Anne Morrison Piehl

Anne Morrison Piehl serves as Professor of Economics and Department Chair at Rutgers University, concurrently directing the Program in Criminal Justice. A Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, she maintains active policy engagement through congressional testimony and National Academy of Sciences committee appointments.

Her educational foundation includes an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University followed by a Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University. Prior to joining Rutgers in 2005, she held faculty positions at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Piehl's research examines mass incarceration dynamics, sentencing determinants, and immigration-crime relationships through historical and contemporary lenses. Her empirical approach analyzes prison population booms, judicial discretion in sentencing guidelines, and demographic impacts on criminal justice outcomes, frequently highlighting nonlinear crime-incarceration relationships and policy-induced marginal returns.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals sustained focus on incarceration scale effects, gender/racial disparities, and immigrant assimilation patterns within correctional systems. Her work demonstrates methodological rigor through quasi-experimental designs like calculation error analysis in sentencing guidelines, while connecting historical data (1900-1930) to modern policy challenges.

Piehl actively bridges academic research and policy implementation through service on the National Research Council's Committee on Law and Justice, ad-hoc incarceration committees, and the New Jersey Commission on Government Efficiency and Reform. Her congressional testimony before the Sentencing Commission and House Immigration Subcommittee directly informs legislative debates on criminal justice reform.

As Department Chair and program director, she oversees academic operations while mentoring emerging scholars. Her policy-relevant research has shaped reentry initiatives like Montgomery County's Pre-release Center and influenced evaluations of programs such as Boston's Operation Ceasefire, demonstrating practical applications of economic analysis in criminal justice settings.