In-group bias in the Indian Judiciary: Evidence from 5 million cases

The paper studied judicial in-group bias in Indian criminal courts, collecting data on over 5 million criminal case records from 2010–2018

Abstract

The paper studied judicial in-group bias in Indian criminal courts, collecting data on over 5 million criminal case records from 2010–2018. Researchers exploit quasi-random assignment of cases to judges to examine whether defendant outcomes are affected by assignment to a judge with a similar identity. They estimate tight zero effects of in-group bias along gender and religious identity. They do find limited in-group bias in some (but not all) settings where identity is particularly salient, but even here their confidence intervals reject effect sizes smaller than those in much of the prior literature.

This output is part of the Economic Development and Institutions (EDI) programme

Citation

Ash, E et al (2021) In-group bias in the Indian Judiciary: Evidence from 5 million cases. Economic Development and Institutions Working paper series. Oxford Policy Management

In-group bias in the Indian Judiciary: Evidence from 5 million cases

Published 5 August 2021