Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Chambers College of Business and Economics

Department

Economics

Committee Chair

Jane Ruseski

Committee Member

Bryan McCannon

Committee Member

Daniel Grossman

Committee Member

Nathaniel Burke

Abstract

This dissertation comprises three independent yet thematically connected essays that explore the effects of public policy on crime and municipal finance. The first chapter examines the relationship between alcohol taxation and crime, assessing how changes in excise tax policies influence criminal activity. The second chapter investigates the fiscal implications of felon enfranchisement, analyzing how the restoration of voting rights to individuals with felony convictions affects municipal public finance. The third chapter evaluates the impact of cannabis legalization on crime, focusing on whether and how legalization alters crime patterns. Each chapter is structured as a stand-alone research paper. A general introduction and conclusion situate these studies within the broader literature on the economics of crime, drug policy, and democratic governance.

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