NCJ Number
35166
Date Published
1976
Length
84 pages
Annotation
THIS ARTICLE REVIEWS STUDIES ON THE DETERMINANTS OF GENERAL PUBLIC EXPENDITURES, IDENTIFIES THEIR MAJOR HYPOTHESES, AND SUMMARIZES AND ASSESSES THE SUPPORT FOR EACH EXAMINING THEIR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES.
Abstract
A BRIEF SYNTHESIS OF THE BASIC STRUCTURE AND FINDINGS OF DETERMINANTS LITERATURE IN GENERAL IS FOLLOWED BY A TABULAR AND DESCRIPTIVE REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON DETERMINANTS OF POLICE PROTECTION EXPENDITURES. A DETAILED ASSESSMENT AND CRITICISM OF DETERMINANTS LITERATURE IS THEN PRESENTED AND SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT ARE OFFERED. MAJOR CRITICISMS OF DETERMINANTS STUDIES INCLUDE A LACK OF THEORETICAL GUIDANCE, A LACK OF ADEQUATE MEASURES OF OUTPUT OR SERVICE QUALITY, NON-COMPARABILITY OF EXPENDITURE DATA ACROSS UNITS OF ANALYSIS, IGNORANCE OF THE EFFECTS OF VARIATION IN CITY POPULATION SIZE, AND INATTENTION TO THE IMPACT OF AGENCY ORGANIZATIONAL VARIABLES (INCLUDING POLICE UNIONIZATION) ON EXPENDITURE LEVELS. SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEASURES OF POLICE OUTPUT AND QUALITY, ABANDONMENT OF THE MACRO APPROACH TO STATISTICAL ANALYSIS IN FAVOR OF THE ADOPTION OF AN INTENSIVE CASE STUDY APPROACH, AND DATA COLLECTION ON ELEMENTS SUCH AS FRINGE BENEFITS AND PENSIONS. A NINE-PAGE LIST OF REFERENCES IS INCLUDED.