An evaluation of the assumptions that underlie institutional anomie theory

Abstract

Messner and Rosenfeld's institutional anomie theory [IAT] postulates that a pervasive cultural mandate to obtain material wealth, coupled with an anomic normative environment that arises from a pronounced imbalance of power in favor of the economy over all other societal institutions, is responsible for the high rates of serious crime found in the United States. Though intuitively appealing, this perspective is not readily amenable to falsification. Consequently, most empirical evaluations of institutional anomie theory have examined the additive and multiplicative effects of the structural antecedents of the institutional imbalance of power and anomie on violent and property crime rates. Our research takes a different tack. We examine the theory's underlying assumptions and suggest that the applicability of IAT may be limited to advanced, western nation-states.