Saturday, July 17, 2004
A research team has recently published a national study that examined the widely held belief that opening a new prison provides an economic boost to rural communities. The report provides no evidence that prisons spur growth. In fact, new prisons are associated with slower growth in the poorest rural counties. Read more . (Free registration required.)
As onte of the researchers noted, "Building a prison is like building an enormous Super 8 Motel where the guests don't want to stay. I don't think you can parachute in a motel and have it change the economy one way or the other."
For a couple of years, I worked in Westr Feliciana Parish, LA, home Louisiana's famed Angola Prison (Dead Man Walking). One spill-over from the prison came from a copuple of local hotels that served families of prisoners.
The other main spillover came from tourism, driven by The Angola Prison Rodeo and the Angola Museum. Here's an account from an independent traveler's web site. Not too many prisons can become tourist attractions, though.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
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Background on Ed Morrison
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Prisons don't help rural counties
