政治修辞与毒品逮捕中的种族歧视
Political Rhetoric and Racial Discrimination in Arrests for Drugs
The Economic Journal · 2025 · [{"name": "Francesco Barilari", "affiliation": ["University of Rome Tor Vergata"]}, {"name": "Diego Zambiasi", "affiliation": ["Newcastle University"]}]
中文摘要
摘要 本文考察政治修辞如何塑造执法行为。我们分析了1981年1月至1992年12月期间美国38个州1,420个警察机构的月度逮捕数据，这一时期美国总统强化了反毒品信息传递，尤其针对快克可卡因，而媒体将其与黑人社区不成比例地联系起来。我们构建了一个新颖的全国性修辞强度指标，并表明该修辞在共和党与民主党支持率相当的县，其地方报纸获得了更多报道；我们将这种差异化媒体曝光作为地方对该修辞易感性的代理变量。我们的研究发现，更多接触这种修辞导致黑人个体因持有毒品被逮捕的人数显著上升，而白人个体没有相应增加，从而扩大了逮捕中的种族差距。
Abstract
Abstract This paper examines how political rhetoric shapes law enforcement behaviour. We analyse monthly arrest data from 1,420 police agencies across thirty-eight US states between January 1981 and December 1992, a period when US presidents intensified anti-drug messaging, particularly targeting crack cocaine, which the media disproportionately linked to Black communities. We construct a novel measure of national rhetoric intensity and show that it received greater coverage in local newspapers in counties where Republicans and Democrats had comparable support, using this differential media exposure as a proxy for local susceptibility to the rhetoric. Our findings reveal that greater exposure to this rhetoric led to a significant rise in drug possession arrests among Black individuals, with no corresponding increase for White individuals, thereby widening racial disparities in arrests.