Problems in Estimating the Optimal-Cost Prison Size

Trumbell and Witte (p. 115) present an economic analysis that attempts to arrive at a specific figure for the optimal size prison in terms of the costs of prison operation and some of the other features of prisons commonly included in proposed standards for prison operation. The thrust of their findings is that the least expensive prison to operate is larger than small but smaller than gargantuan. Few people would challenge this finding, which is simply a reminder of the economies of scale and the diseconomies of excessive scale

Criminology · Econometrics · Economics · Prison · Sociology · Statistics · Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth · Mathematics · Psychology

• Elements of Econometrics

  Jan Kmenta•Elements of econometrics•1997

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

  Open Access•William N Trumbull, Ann Dryden Witte•Law & Society Review•1982

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