Recidivism and Neighborhood Institutions: Evidence from the Rise of the Evangelical Church in Chile

This paper uses administrative data from Chile to provide causal evidence that the local institutions of the neighborhood in which inmates live after prison impact recidivism. Indeed, the opening of an evangelical church nearby reduces 12-month reincarceration rates among property crime offenders by 11 percentage points (18%). Similarly, the opening of nongovernmental organizations helping their beneficiaries to improve their earnings potential or overcome alcohol and drug abuse problems reduce 12-month reincarceration rates by 11 and 10 percentage points, respectively. These results suggest that giving recently released inmates access to local support networks could play an important role in reducing recidivism.