Empirical studies of the interactions between economic conditions and social control have generally found high osito e correlations between unemployment and incarceration, although theorists interpret the meaning of these relations different. This studs' examines the relationships of economy to social controlfrom 1958 to 1978 at the level of the states rather than the United States as a whole. The analysis demonstrates that the linkages betsseen unemployment and incarceration vary from state to state. Therefore, analyses which use data for the United States as a hole inside more than they reveal and cannot be generalized to less inclusive levels of analysis. In conclusion, the stVudt rec ommends that further analyses be more inclusive in their conceptualization of economi((conditions and social crlitrol and examine the operation of social control in more context specific settings.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Black, D.The Behavior of law. New York: Academic Press, 1976.
2.
Bogen, D.Juvenile delinquency and economic trends
. American Sociological Review, 1944, 9, 178-184.
3.
Brenner, H.Estimating the social costs of national economic policy. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1976.
4.
Carr, L.J.Delinquency control. New York: Harper, 1950.
5.
Cloward, R.A.
, & Ohlin, L.E.Delinquency and opportunity. New York: Free Press, 1960.
6.
Davies, G.R.Social aspects of the business cycle
. Quarterly Journal of the University of North Dakota. 1922, 12, 107-121.
7.
Dye, T.R.Understanding public policy. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1972.
8.
Dye, T.R.Policy analysis. Birmingham: University of Alabama Press, 1976.
9.
Fleisher, B.M.The effect of unemployment on juvenile delinquency
. Journal of Political Economy, 1963, 71, 543-555.
10.
Fleisher, B.M.The economics of delinquency. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1966.
11.
Gibbs, J.P.Crime, unemployment and state integration
. British Journal of Criminology, 1966, 6, 49-58.
12.
Glaser, D.
, & Rice, K.Crime, age and employment. American Sociological Review, 1959, 24, 679-686.
13.
Guttentag, M.The relationship of unemployment to crime and delinquency
. Journal of Social Issues, 1968, 24, 105-114.
14.
Hobbs, A.H.The relationship between criminality and economic conditions
. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 1943, 34, 5-10.
15.
Jacob, H.
, & Vines, K.N. (Eds.). Politics in American states: A comparative analysis. Boston: Little, Brown, 1971.
16.
Jankovic, I.Labor market and imprisonment
. Crime and Social Justice, 1977, 8, 17-31.
17.
Ogburn, W.F.
, & Thomas, D.S.The influence of the business cycle on certain social conditions. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1922, 324-340.
18.
Phelps, H.A.Cycles of crime
. Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, 1929, 20, 107-121.
19.
Phillips, L.
, Votey, H., & Maxwell, D.Crime, youth and labor market. Journal of Political Economy, 1972, 80, 491-504.
20.
Plant, J.S.Personality and the cultural pattern. New York: The Commonwealth Fund, 1937.
21.
Ploscowe, M.Some causative factors in criminality — A critical analysis of the literature on the causes of crime. In National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement, Report on the causes of crime (Vol. 1). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1931.
22.
Quinney, R.Class, state and crime. New York: David McKay, 1977.
23.
Reinemann, J.O.Juvenile delinquency in Philadelphia and economic trends
. Temple University Law Quarterly, 1947, 20, 576-583.
24.
Sellin, J.T.Research memorandum on crime in the depression. New York: Social Science Research Council, 1927.
25.
Sharkansky, I.
, & Hofferbert, R.Dimensions of state politics, economics, and public policy. American Political Science Review, 1969, 63, 867-879.
26.
Short, J.F.An investigation of the relation between crime and business cycles. New York: Arno Press, 1980.
27.
Singell, L.D.An examination of the empirical relationship between unemployment and juvenile delinquency
. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 1967, 26, 377-386.
28.
Spitzer, S.Notes toward a theory of punishment and social change. In R.J. Simon (Ed.), Research in law and sociology (Vol. 2). Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press, 1979.
29.
Thomas, D.S.Social aspects of the business cycle. New York: Gordon and Breach, 1968.
30.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census
. Statistical abstracts of the United States. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1959-1979.
31.
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation
. Uniform Crime Reports. Washington, D.C.:U.S. Government Printing Office, 1959-1979.
32.
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons
. National prisoner statistics: Prisoners in state and federal prisons. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1959-1979.
33.
U.S. Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration
. Prisoners in state and federal institutions. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971-1979.
34.
U.S. Department of Labor
. Manpower report of the President. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1963-1975.
35.
U.S. Department of Labor
. Employment and training report of the President. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1976-1979.
36.
van Kleeck, M.Work and law observance in the histories of men in Sing Sing Prison. In National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement, Report on the causes of crime (Vol. 1). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1931.
37.
Vold, G.Theoretical criminology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979.
38.
Votey, H.
, & Phillips, L.The control of criminal activity: An economic analysis. In D. Glaser (Ed.), Handbook of criminology. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1974.
39.
Wagner, A.C.Crime and economic change in Philadelphia, 1925-1934
. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 1936, 28, 483-490.
40.
Warner, S.B.Crime and criminal statistics in Boston. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1934.
41.
Wiers, P.Wartime increase in Michigan delinquency
. American Sociological Review, 1945, 10, 515-523.
42.
Winslow, E.Relationship between employment and crime fluctuations as shown by Massachusetts statistics. In National Commmission on Law Observance and Enforcement, Report on the causes of crime (Vol. 1). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1931.
43.
Yeager, M.G.Unemployment and imprisonment.
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 1979, 70, 586-588.
