Differential Treatment: Citizenship and Incarceration Inequality in Asia and Central-South America

• In Event: Roundtable: Sentencing and Judicial Decision-Making

Abstract

There is considerable research suggesting an inverse or nonsignificant relationship between immigration and crime. However, many European countries have a significantly higher rate of foreign citizens held in prison compared to non-immigrants. This study investigates differential levels of incarceration of foreign citizens in 13 countries in Asia, 13 countries in Central America, and 10 countries in South America to assess the working hypothesis that foreign citizens in these countries may face a significantly higher risk of incarceration. The study uses data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on persons held in prison between 2015 and 2019 to examine the possible impact of nationality on incarceration rates. The results show that there are higher levels of foreign prisoners in many of the countries examined, particularly in Central and South America, suggesting that the risk of incarceration may be influenced by citizenship. Sociocultural and institutional factors including level of democratization, ethnic fractionalization, GDP per capita and income inequality are examined in an effort to identify possible factors that may explain these results.

Authors

• Ellen G. Cohn, Florida International University

• Suman Kakar, Florida International University

• Mario Coccia, CNR – National Research Council of Italy