Why Do Budgets Received by State Prosecutors Vary Across Districts in the United States?

Abstract

This paper analyzes how the budget allocated to state prosecutors varies from one district to another and the reasons for such variation by using theoretical and empirical methods. The main results of this paper are as follows: Other factors being equal, more politically conservative prosecutorial districts get less budget, this decrease in budget with political conservatism is steeper in more affluent and also in more populous districts, and that there are fixed costs in operating a prosecutor's office. Other less surprising results are that other factors remaining same, prosecutorial budget increases with the population, the crime rate, and with the affluence of the district.

Keywords: Prosecuting Attorneys, District Attorneys, State Courts, Crime, Prosecution, Litigation Process, Budget

JEL Classification: K40, K41, K42, H72, H76