NCJ Number
208711
Journal
Punishment & Society Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2005 Pages: 7-28
Date Published
2005
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This study explored the factors related to the use of imprisonment in 100 developed and developing nations.
Abstract
Although research indicates that developed and developing nations have similar rates of crime, there is significant variation in their reactions to criminal behavior. Responses range from community-based restorative justice practices to capital punishment. In many nations, imprisonment rates fluctuate irrespective of changes in the crime rate. In order to probe the sources of imprisonment, the current study used Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models to estimate the relationships between levels of imprisonment and 11 measures of crime, economic conditions, indicators of social development, political, and demographic variables in the 100 richest developed and developing nations. The analysis focused on three factors: the relationship between a nation’s institutional conditions, the relationship between social disruption and imprisonment, and the relationship between population heterogeneity and cross-national imprisonment. The models controlled for indicators of modernization, economic conditions, and crime. Results indicated that, as expected, nations that use capital punishment also have a greater use of imprisonment. A consistent relationship was also found between imprisonment and nations with common law legal systems, as well as newly independent nation-states. Finally, a significant relationship was observed between population heterogeneity and imprisonment. The findings provide tentative support for the argument that punishment is a function of political forces. Future research should empirically test the influence of economic factors on punishment. Tables, notes, references