Estimating Long-Run Incarceration Rates for Australia, Canada, England & Wales, New Zealand and the United States

Andrew Leigh

No 8156, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: Compiling data from dozens of archival sources, I compile the most extensive series to date of the long-run imprisonment rate for five English-speaking nations: Australia, Canada, England and Wales, New Zealand and the United States. These series are constructed as a share of adults rather than the entire population, and I discuss why the latter can be misleading. In the late-nineteenth century, Australia had the highest incarceration rate of these nations. Today, the United States has the highest rate. With the exception of Canada, incarceration rates have risen markedly since the mid-1980s. These new series are made available in full, to allow other researchers to explore the consequences and causes of incarceration.

Keywords: prison; jail; incarceration; crime (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I30 K14 N30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Estimating Long-Run Incarceration Rates for Australia, Canada, England & Wales, New Zealand and the United States (2020)
Working Paper: Estimating Long-Run Incarceration Rates for Australia, Canada, England & Wales, New Zealand and the United States (2020)
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