Working Paper: NBER ID: w25715
Authors: Christian Dippel; Michael Poyker
Abstract: Using a newly constructed complete monthly panel of private and public state prisons, we ask whether private prisons impact judges’ sentencing decisions in their state. We employ two identification strategies, a difference-in-difference strategy comparing court-pairs that straddle state-borders, and an event study. We find that the opening of private prisons has a large effect on sentence lengths shortly after opening but this effect dissipates once the prison is at capacity. Public prison openings have no such effects, suggesting that private prisons have an impact on criminal sentencing that public ones do not.
Keywords: private prisons; criminal sentencing; judicial decisions; cost savings; justice equity
JEL Codes: D72; H76; K0; K14; K41
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Judges internalizing cost savings (K41) | Influence on sentencing decisions (K40) |
| Opening of private prisons (L33) | Increase in sentence lengths (Y60) |
| Increase in private prison capacity (H76) | Increase in sentence lengths (Y60) |
| Public prison openings/closings (H76) | No significant effect on sentencing (K40) |
| Private prisons influence sentencing decisions (K14) | Fiscal considerations (E62) |
| Opening of private prisons (L33) | Increase in sentence lengths shortly after opening (Y60) |