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Inside the Box: Safety, Health, and Isolation in Prison

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  • Bruce Western

Abstract

A large social science research literature examines the effects of prisons on crime and socioeconomic inequality, but the penal institution itself is often a black box overlooked in the analysis of its effects. This paper examines prisons and their role in rehabilitative programs and as venues for violence, health and healthcare, and extreme isolation through solitary confinement. Research shows that incarcerated people are participating less today than in the 1980s in prison programs, and they face high risks of violence, disease, and isolation. Prison conditions suggest the mechanisms that impair adjustment to community life after release provide a more complete account of the costs of incarceration and indicate the performance of prisons as moral institutions that bear a responsibility for humane and decent treatment.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruce Western, 2021. "Inside the Box: Safety, Health, and Isolation in Prison," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(4), pages 97-122, Fall.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:35:y:2021:i:4:p:97-122
    DOI: 10.1257/jep.35.4.97
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anna Aizer & Joseph J. Doyle, 2015. "Juvenile Incarceration, Human Capital, and Future Crime: Evidence from Randomly Assigned Judges," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(2), pages 759-803.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bhuller, Manudeep & Khoury, Laura & Løken, Katrine V., 2021. "Prison, Mental Health and Family Spillovers," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 19/2021, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    2. Rudes, Danielle S. & Kushmerick-McCune, Bryce & Narvey, Chelsey & Toman, Elisa L. & Ingel, Sydney & Magana, Jaylyn, 2025. "Scapegoating halt: Contested legitimacy through formal conforming & informal rebuking," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    3. Coretti, Silvia & Fedeli, Silvia & Santoni, Michele, 2024. "Assessing the ethics of prison policies to ensure human rights compliance: Suicides and self-inflicted critical events in Italian prisons," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. Msrelene Fay B. Agustin & Sun Shine Mae M. Dumlao & Lea B. Obungen & Romel R. Bosito & Jessica C. Corpuz & John Bel K. Galumba, 2024. "Voices Behind Bars: The Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) and their Lived Experiences in the Prison Institution," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(8), pages 391-414, August.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • H76 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Other Expenditure Categories
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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