Preliminary abstract
This paper investigates the effects of peer exposure in prison settings. Utilising detailed administrative data on cell assignments and sentencing in Quebec, Canada, I leverage variations in the availability of empty or less crowded cells to estimate the impact of prolonged exposure to different types of cellmates on recidivism outcomes. The analysis has implications for optimal assignment practices of prisoners across cells to minimise recidivism.

Steeve Marchand is a Research Fellow at the Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research at the University of Melbourne. He is an applied economist specialising in labour and public economics and the economics of crime. Before joining the Melbourne Institute, he received his Ph.D. in economics from Université Laval and undertook a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley.