Essays on crime and justice

Advisor: Claudio Ferraz

This thesis consists of three essays on crime and justice. The first essay evaluates the impact of legal capacity on violent crimes in Brazil. The district classification elevation increases judicial performance and decreases homicide rate due to the selection of more productive and experienced judges. The second essay assess the impact of women's protection laws on domestic violence. The Maria da Penha law, introduced in Brazil in 2006, reduced significantly the female household homicide rate. The policy effect was concentrated in small municipalities. It was greater in places without women’s police station and with low women’s income and labor market participation, low female educational level and low rate of divorce. The third essay investigates the determinants of judicial productivity. More developed localities in terms of income, inequality, educational level and urbanization concentrate the more productive courts