Abstract
It is axiomatic that public funding is a determinant of the quality of the justice system and that justice is a consequential area of public spending. Yet, legal research typically treats reduced public spending as background context, while economic research on public institutions tends to overlook justice altogether. Drawing upon a newly constructed dataset covering more than two decades, this article offers the most comprehensive account to date of how contemporary fiscal policy on justice has evolved, identifying reallocations within the justice budget and comparing justice with other areas of government expenditure. Through our account, we provide the foundation for advancing analysis – particularly concerning the outcomes, assumptions, and causes – of prevailing policy.
Authors
Magdalena Domínguez
Magdalena is a Senior Research Economist at the IFS. Her research focuses on issues related to the economics of crime, networks & place-based policies
Joe Tomlinson
Joe is Professor of Administrative Law at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London.
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