Labor Surplus and Punishment: A Review and Assessment of Theory and Evidence

Abstract

Since the pioneering work ofRusche and Kirchheimer (1939), the theoretical links between labor surplus and punishment have seen extensive development. Eleven of those links described here are mediated by economic, political, and ideological factors such as the value of labor, the systemic needs of capitalism, and the ideology of judges and their communities. The sophistication of theorizing about labor surplus and punishment is matched with skepticism about the corresponding empirical evidence which has been termed “elusive”and “contradictory” at best. The results from 44 empirical studies are systematically assessed. The evidence suggests that independent of the effects of crime, labor surplus is consistently and significantly related to prison population, and to prison admissions when time-series and individual level data are used. The relationship of labor surplus and punishment appears slightly stronger when age, race, and gender specific measures are employed. The limitations of existing research, in light of theoretical developments, are discussed.