Georg Rusche observed in the 1930s that the political economy contributed significantly to the development of penal systems in various countries. This research project explores Rusche's contention that the political economy significantly shapes the formation of criminal justice institutions and their operation. Specifically, this study examines federal criminal justice legislation between 1948 and 1987 in relation to the long cycles of world capitalist development, the economic conditions of capital, the economic conditions of labor, and the index crime rates. The findings support the hypothesis that a significant relationship exists between the political economy and criminal justice policy. A multivariate time-series analysis reveals that the economic conditions of capital and the long cycles remain significantly correlated with federal criminal justice legislation when controlling for the effects of the crime rate. The findings do not support the theory that the criminal justice system develops a blatantly more coercive or "hard" approach to the crime problem during the period of economic contraction. The implications of these findings for criminal justice theory development are discussed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-05, Section: A, page: 1903. / Major Professor: Theodore G. Chiricos. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76400 |
| Contributors | Barlow, David Edward., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 244 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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