Political economy of punishment: reviewing methods to analyze the relationship between economy and imprisonment across time

• In Event: Advances in quantitative methods 3

Abstract

This presentation reviews the methodologies used by scientific researchers to analyze the relationship between economy and imprisonment across time. Precisely, the review compares the statistical analysis techniques used in the criminological field to those used in other fields, including the social sciences in general, but also econometrics. A critical focus is put on the relevance of techniques traditionally used in criminology for the study of time-series.
Findings show that correlation, multivariate regression, and ARIMA are the main statistical analysis techniques used by social researchers, including in criminology. Overall, this review provides valuable insights into how the link between economy and detention has been analyzed in criminology, offering an occasion to critically reflect about the methodological choices that have been made as well as to discuss the implications of such choices. Analyzing the particularities of longitudinal data, the review also emphasizes the need for considering alternative analysis techniques to better understand the complex relationship between economics and incarceration.

Authors

• Mélanie M. Tiago, Universidade Lusófona

• Marcelo F. Aebi, University of Lausanne