Penology,economics, and the public: Toward an agreement

In this paper we confront the problem of why prisons are not a more effective tool for dealing with criminals. Several sources of this problem are suggested, and reasonably operational solutions are proposed. These solutions are motivated by basic principles of economics, and some broader consequences of this framework for dealing with criminal activity are briefly discussed.This article stems from general issues which arose while the author was at SUNY/Binghamton preparing a dissertation on somewhat more specific cost-benefit questions of prison management. He is indebted to Clifford Kern, A. G. Holtmann, and B. A. Weisbrod for lively comments on an earlier draft of this paper.