@article{ref1,
title="Explaining imprisonment in Europe",
journal="European journal of criminology",
year="2011",
author="Lappi-Seppälä, Tapio",
volume="8",
number="4",
pages="303-328",
abstract="This paper presents the findings of a comparative study that explores the linkages between the use of imprisonment in 30 countries and a range of potentially explanatory factors for variations in this measure of punitivity, including: crime levels; social indicators, such as those measuring investment in welfare programmes and income inequality; trust in other people and trust in political institutions; public fear of crime and public punitivity; and variations in political structure and forms of democracy. The main conclusions are that moderate penal policies have their roots in a consensual and corporatist political culture, in high levels of social trust and political legitimacy, and in a strong welfare state; and that more punitive policies that make more use of imprisonment are to be found in countries where these characteristics are less in evidence.<p />",
language="",
issn="1477-3708",
doi="10.1177/1477370811411459",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1477370811411459"
}