General Equilibrium Effects of Prison on Crime: Evidence from International Comparisons

Cato Papers on Public Policy, Vol. 2 (2012)

28 Pages Posted: 2 Jan 2015

See all articles by Justin McCrary

Justin McCrary

Columbia University - Law School; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Sarath Sanga

Yale University - Law School

Date Written: January 1, 2012

Abstract

We compare crime and incarceration rates over time for the United States, Canada, and England and Wales, as well as for a small selection of comparison countries. Shifts in U.S. punishment policy led to a five-fold increase in the incarceration rate, while nearly every other country experienced only minor increases in incarceration. The large shifts in U.S. punishment policy do not seem to have caused commensurately large improvements in public safety.

Keywords: Incarceration, international, public safety

JEL Classification: K14, N40, D63

Suggested Citation

McCrary, Justin and Sanga, Sarath, General Equilibrium Effects of Prison on Crime: Evidence from International Comparisons (January 1, 2012). Cato Papers on Public Policy, Vol. 2 (2012), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2544504

Justin McCrary

Columbia University - Law School ( email )

435 West 116th Street
New York, NY 10025
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Sarath Sanga (Contact Author)

Yale University - Law School ( email )

P.O. Box 208215
New Haven, CT 06520-8215
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://law.yale.edu/sarath-sanga

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