Journal of Public Economics

State prison admissions ran 3% higher in years when district attorneys stood for election

Northwestern economist Chika Okafor found state prison admissions ran 3% higher in DA election years from 1986 to 2006, about 63,000 extra admissions. Spread across 21 years, the figure is about 3,000 admissions a year, too few on its own to explain the era's prison boom.