Prisons, drug interdiction, and preschool programs: Alternative human capital investments

Vergil Williams and Velma Williams

International Advances in Economic Research, 1997, vol. 3, issue 1, 90 pages

Abstract: Public opinion surveys indicate that Americans list crime high in their priorities for government attention. Inevitably, public officials seeking office promise to reduce crime (the issue of crime is politicized). Simple solutions, without regard to their effectiveness, are politically popular and get votes for elected officials. The result is that social policy is made on the basis of popular solutions, followed by the spending of vast amounts of government revenue on ineffective measures. Not only is much of those funds wasted, a loss to society is further aggravated in that these resources could have been invested in programs that would yield the desired benefits. This paper examines two expensive crime-fighting measures that are failed policies and suggests one alternative type of human capital investment that is cost effective. Copyright International Atlantic Economic Society 1997

Date: 1997
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DOI: 10.1007/BF02295003

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