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Going private: Are private prisons cost‐saving options for states?

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  • Weston White
  • Anita Alves Pena
  • Stephan Weiler

Abstract

As prison populations have increased, states have often turned to private prisons in an effort to save on correctional costs. This paper first considers the trade‐offs between private and public prisons, then assesses the cost‐effectiveness of such strategies across all 50 states over 1999–2015 using a fixed‐effects panel model. We find that private prisons provide no significant systematic cost savings over the period of study, adding econometric clarification to previously inconclusive case study evidence.

Suggested Citation

  • Weston White & Anita Alves Pena & Stephan Weiler, 2020. "Going private: Are private prisons cost‐saving options for states?," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 1000-1016, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:growch:v:51:y:2020:i:3:p:1000-1016
    DOI: 10.1111/grow.12388
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christian Dippel & Michael Poyker, 2023. "Do Private Prisons Affect Criminal Sentencing?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66(3), pages 511-534.
    2. Richard J. Kish & Amy F. Lipton, 2013. "Do Private Prisons Really offer Savings Compared with their Public Counterparts?," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 93-107, February.
    3. Morgan Kelly, 2000. "Inequality And Crime," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(4), pages 530-539, November.
    4. Oliver Hart & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1997. "The Proper Scope of Government: Theory and an Application to Prisons," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1127-1161.
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