Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

This paper builds upon previous research on efficiency and competition in contracting markets by conducting a comparative state study of networks in the area of state corrections, a frequent target of political leaders. Prisons are one of the fastest growing and most controversial areas for contracting out.  We examine panel data on individual state corrections contracts from six different states from 2007-2011 in order to improve our understanding the level of competition in their markets.  This information allows us to see if there are any notable trends over time by service type across different states based on the political party or divided government.  We seek to improve our understanding of state contracting practices in order to see if contracting increases or decreases during a particular unified partisan administration.  We also should be able to ascertain whether certain contracting patterns tend to dominate in a particular region of the US based on the variation of state labor laws.