Economic Analysis of Juvenile Justice
Economic analysis provides a systematic approach to finding the optimal method for allocating limited resources. In the field of juvenile justice, researchers and evaluators use economic analysis techniques to compare the costs and benefits of different juvenile justice programs. This can help policy makers choose from policy options such as whether to spend more money incarcerating delinquent youth or invest in new substance abuse treatment programs.
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Identification
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Cost-benefit analysis is the most common form of economic analysis. This analysis asks whether the dollar value of a program's benefits exceed its costs. Cost-benefit also asks how this measure of the difference between costs and benefits compares with those of other alternatives. Although cost-benefit analysis is not often used in the study of juvenile justice and other policies and programs to reduce crime, the Urban Institute suggests in a report that the technique will become increasingly important in formulating policy.
Significance
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Because policy makers have limited resources, it is important to allocate funding and personnel to policies and programs that empirical evidence demonstrates are the most effective. Cost-benefit analysis, by quantifying in dollars and cents the value of juvenile justice programs, can provide important evidence for policy makers and members of the public.
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Features
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An economic, or cost-benefit analysis, of juvenile justice programs begins with expressing in monetary terms the benefits associated with a policy or program. This step is the most difficult because the benefits are often difficult to measure in dollar terms. Analysts can easily measure the savings in prison expenditures that result from low crime rates, for example, but intangible benefits, such as the improved quality of life in neighborhoods with less juvenile crime, cannot be easily quantified. Further, the benefits of many programs take months and even years to unfold.
Steps
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After quantifying the benefits of a juvenile justice program, the analyst then determines the costs of the program based on financial data. Subtracting the costs from the benefits provides the economic bottom line of the program, which analysts and policy makers can then compare with other options. Economic analysis, in short, provides a powerful tool for comparing different approaches to juvenile justice.
Considerations
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When adding up the costs of a juvenile justice program during a cost-benefit analysis, it is important to focus on the program operating costs and ignore fixed costs, which would accrue regardless of whether the program in question exists. Examples of fixed costs include the salary of the director of the juvenile justice department. Limit costs to those associated with the specific program or initiative being analyzed.
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References
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