Steven Paul Raphael (born November 13, 1968) is an American economist.
[4] Raphael's research focuses on economic aspects of low-wage labor markets, housing, and incarceration in the United States, as well as, more recently, the social consequences of mass incarceration in the United States.
"[6] In 2014, he and Michael Stoll reported that incarceration was less effective at reducing crime when the prison population was high than when it was low.
[7] He has also co-authored studies with Stoll and Magnus Lofstrom finding that when California reduced its incarceration rate significantly, this reduction seemed to have no effect on violent crime rates in the state, and that it had a modest effect on property crime, especially auto theft.
[10] Raphael is the former editor-in-chief of Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society.