Citizenship and Justice: Exploring Incarceration Inequality in Asia and Central and South America.

• In Event: Inequality, Discrimination, and Immigration Outcomes

Abstract

This study uses UNODC data from 2015-2019 to examine the factors that affect incarceration of foreign citizens in 13 Asian, 13 Central American, and 10 South American countries. It is hypothesized that foreign citizens face a higher risk of incarceration. Key factors - democratization, ethnic fractionalization, GDP per capita, and income inequality are examined. Preliminary findings indicate that while higher GDP is linked to reduced incarceration inequality, increased democratization correlates with greater inequality. These results indicate that neither GDP nor democratization fully explains the differences, suggesting the need for further research to identify additional factors driving incarceration based on citizenship.

Authors

• Suman Kakar, Florida International University

• Mario Coccia, National Research Council of Italy

• Ellen Cohn, Florida International University