The Economics of Mass Incarceration
By Alex Krehbiel One would think that the sharp rise in incarceration rates, which began in the 1970ís and 1980ís and hasnít tapered off, was a result of increasing crime. While there's statistical evidence in the 1980ís that showed a correlation between rising rate of crime and rising rates of incarceration, that changed in the 1990ís and beyond. Incarceration rates and prison construction continued to rise, while the rate of crime dropped. [...]