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Determinants of the Costs of Operating Large-Scale Prisons with Implications for the Cost of Correctional Standards

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2024

William N. Trumbull  and
Ann D. Witte
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Abstract

This paper explores the determinants of the costs of prisons. An economic model relates cost to output, input prices, and a number of variables controlling for differences in the type of outputs and inputs for each prison. Data from the federal prison system are used to estimate the model. Our results indicate that a minimum-cost prison would be quite large (1,000 to 1,600 inmates) and that the improvement of some correctional standards (e.g., single-bed cells, more living space) may serve to decrease rather than increase prison operating costs.

Type
Research Article
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , 1982 , pp. 115 - 137
Copyright
Copyright © 1982 The Law and Society Association.

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Footnotes

*

This paper is a revised version of Chapter 14 of the final report to NILECJ on Grant Number 78-NI-AX-0059 awarded by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, U.S. Department of Justice, under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. We would like to thank William McGuire and Federal Bureau of Prison staff for aid in data collection, Jeffrey Bass for data preparation, and Pam Reid for aid in computer work. All errors are, of course, the authors' alone.

References

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Cases Cited

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