State and County Incarceration Rates:

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines the direct and indirect effects of race and income inequality on imprisonment rates across states. The analysis is designed to: 1) investigate whether race and income inequality are significantly related to imprisonment when controlling for crime , 2) assess the relative magnitudes of the direct and indirect effects; and 3) assess the relative magnitudes of race and income inequality. Crime is found to be the strongest predictor of incarceration rates in five of the six equations estimated. Income inequality is significantly related to incarceration rates in two of the six equations. There was no clear evidence of a direct race effect. The indirect effect of race was greater than the direct effect in four of the six equations.