Temperature and Court Outcomes: Evidence from India
Temperature is one of the major environmental factors that people are exposed to on a daily basis. This study explores the extent to which hotter temperatures affect judicial decision-making in the Indian context. We find that in general daily maximum temperatures raise the likelihood of negative outcomes for defendants, in general and for convictions specifically (p <$0.05). On the other hand, the likelihood of bail refusals declines as daily maximum temperatures rise (p < 0.05). The study also uncovers that temperature-driven negative outcomes are largely for property crimes and that higher temperatures induce male judges to inflict harsher judgments on female defendants.
Date: 7 June 2022, 16:00 (Tuesday, 7th week, Trinity 2022)
Venue: Register for online
Speaker: Vis Taraz (Smith College)
Organising department: Department of Economics
Part of: Environment and Resource Economics Seminar
Booking required?: Recommended
Booking url: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcsdu2gpzssEtZSWq0LS3jbpASYmBdKJczu
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Emma Heritage