On the Public Finance of Capital Punishment

Alexander Lundberg

doi:10.1093/aler/ahac007

On the Public Finance of Capital Punishment

Alexander Lundberg^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Emergency Medicine

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This study examines how local governments handle the financial demands of capital trials. With longitudinal data on county expenditures in Texas, fixed-effects regression estimates underscore two fiscal impacts of capital trials. First, counties raise property tax rates by an average of one-half basis point in years with a concluded trial. Second, counties reduce public safety expenditure by an average of approximately one million dollars. These results are consistent with national, cross-sectional research.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	531-588
Number of pages	58
Journal	American Law and Economics Review
Volume	24
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/aler/ahac007
State	Published - 2022

Funding

This work was inspired by a conversation with Valena Beety of West Virginia University and the West Virginia Innocence Project. I owe a special thanks to Denise Hayes for help in understanding comprehensive annual financial reports. Lindsay Allen, Aaron Chalfin, Bryan McCannon, Murat Mungan, and seminar participants at both the West Virginia University College of Law and Public Choice Society 2019 Annual Meetings also provided instrumental feedback. Lastly, I thank two anonymous referees for their insight.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Finance
Law

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10.1093/aler/ahac007

Cite this

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abstract = "This study examines how local governments handle the financial demands of capital trials. With longitudinal data on county expenditures in Texas, fixed-effects regression estimates underscore two fiscal impacts of capital trials. First, counties raise property tax rates by an average of one-half basis point in years with a concluded trial. Second, counties reduce public safety expenditure by an average of approximately one million dollars. These results are consistent with national, cross-sectional research.",

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AB - This study examines how local governments handle the financial demands of capital trials. With longitudinal data on county expenditures in Texas, fixed-effects regression estimates underscore two fiscal impacts of capital trials. First, counties raise property tax rates by an average of one-half basis point in years with a concluded trial. Second, counties reduce public safety expenditure by an average of approximately one million dollars. These results are consistent with national, cross-sectional research.

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On the Public Finance of Capital Punishment

Abstract

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ASJC Scopus subject areas

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