Using Cost-Benefit Analysis To Evaluate Correctional Sentences

When Haynes and Larsen gathered self-report and official data from burglars, they found the high cost of recidivistic crime causes probation to cost more than prison. Gray and Olson analyzed the data again, arguing that researchers should measure rehabilitation, the difference between priors and recidivism, rather than recidivism alone. They found that prison may generate so much dehabilitation that it costs more than probation. In this study, the four authors analyze their conflicting results and show how cost-benefit analysis can inform policymakers.