The 1980s Saw a Trend Toward Old-Fashioned Punitive Deterrence as Opposed

question 48

Multiple Choice

The 1980s saw a trend toward old-fashioned punitive deterrence as opposed to the more liberal penal policies and community-based corrections popular in the 1960s and early 1970s.As a result, prisons became more crowded, and the gap between the number of people in prison and the prison capacity widened.The number of prisoners (in thousands) in federal and state prisons is approximated by the function where t is measured in years, with t = 0 corresponding to 1983.The number of inmates for which prisons were designed is given by where C(t) is measured in thousands and t has the same meaning as before.Find an expression that shows the gap between the number of prisoners and the number of inmates for which the prisons were designed at any time t.

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Definitions:

Monopsony

A market condition where there is only one buyer for a product or service, giving them significant control over prices.

Hourly Wage

The rate an employee is paid for each hour of work.

Labor-Supply Curve

A graphical representation showing the relationship between the amount of labor workers are willing to provide at different wage rates.

Opportunity Cost

The cost of forgoing the next best alternative when making a decision or choosing to consume or produce one good or service over another.