Cultures of Inequality"- Ethnicity, Immigration, Social Welfare, And Imprisonment

7/29/2019 Cultures of Inequality"- Ethnicity, Immigration, Social Welfare, And Imprisonment

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American Academy of Political and Social Science

"Cultures of Inequality": Ethnicity, Immigration, Social Welfare, and ImprisonmentAuthor(s): Robert D. Crutchfield and David PettinicchioReviewed work(s):Source: Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 623, Race,Crime, and Justice: Contexts and Complexities (May, 2009), pp. 134-147Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. in association with the American Academy of Political and SocialScience

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"Cultures fInequality":Ethnicity,Immigration,SocialWelfare,andImprisonment

ByROBERTD. CRUTCHFIELDandDAVIDPETTINICCHIO

The authors iscussthe shift rom lassic culture fpovertyrgumentso morecontemporaryses of cul-tural ariablesnexplainingriminalustice racticesnWestern ndustrialized ountries.The authors use"cultures f nequality"o refer o the ncreasingasteor tolerance or nequalityn thegeneralpopulationacrossnations.They also elaborate a potential inkbetweenperceived hreat fothers ndgrowingastesforinequality, hereby xtending he classic threathypothesis. sing ountry-levelata and datafrom heWorldValuesSurvey,he authors ind hatcountrieswithhigher hanaverage astes ornequalitylso havehigherncomenequality, ore opulation eterogene-ity,ndhigherercentagesf thersnprison. owever,people nthese ountries o notnecessarilyave morehostileattitudes oward others. The United Statesshares several characteristicswith other Westerncountries utappearsto be drivinghe differencenthe meantaste for nequalityetween ountrieswithlow andhigh mprisonmentfothers.Keywords: ethnicity; mmigration; mprisonment;culturesf nequality;hreat;ross-national

popular xplanationor omemajor ocialills s thepersistencef a culture fpov-erty. anfield1968)andMurray1984)eachauthoredheirversions f this"theory"hathavebeen endorsed ynotable olicymakers.PresidentillClinton,or xample,ommentingRobertD. Crutchfields a professornd chair n theDepartment of Sociology at the UniversityofWashington. is researchocuses n the roles fworkand labormarkets s determinantsfcrime nd crimepatterns, eighborhoodsnd crime, nd racial andethnic isparitiesncriminalusticeprocessing.DavidPettinicchios a PhDcandidaten theDepartmentof Sociologyat the Universityf Washington.Hisdissertationocuseson organizational ynamics ndpolitical rocessesn theexpansion fdisabilitydvo-cacy.He is also interestedn economic nd politicalpredictorsf ross-nationaliolent rime ates.NOTE: Wewould ike othank erryerting,uzannaRamirez,Blaine Robbins, nd JacobYoungfortheirhelpful omments nd advice. We would also like tothankLauren Krivo and Ruth Peterson for theirfeedbackndsuggestionsnearlier raftsf his rticle.DOI: 10.1177/0002716208331379134 ANNALS,AAPSS,623,May2009

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"CULTURES OF INEQUALITY" 135on welfareeformhilehe was ntheWhiteHouse, aidthatMurray'snalysesof heproblemsreated y hewelfareystem greater overtynd more xag-gerated onsequentocialproblems wererightntarget,lthoughenotedthatMurray'solutions ere oo extremehttp://www.newsweek.com/id/125104/page/1). anfieldndMurray,swell sClintonndotherfficials,cknowledgethatocial tructuralonditionslsocontributeocrime,ddiction,amilyisrup-tion, ndteenpregnancyutemphasizehat hepoorholdvalues hat re themajor ource ftheir roblemsnd ife ircumstances.n contrast, anyocialscientistsrgue hat ocial tructuralonditionsuch s oblessness,nadequateschools,ndracial iscriminationead tothese roblemscf.MasseyndDentn1993;SampsonndBean2006;Wilson 987).They lsogenerallycknowledgethat ometimesersistentisadvantage ayeadto the mergencefnorms ndvalues hat xacerbateheproblematicivesof thepoorand the communitiestheynhabit.In this rticle, e offer counterothe raditionalulturefpovertyrgument:a culturef nequalityhesis. numberf ocial roblemsreproducedy ersist-entpoverty,hich xists otbecauseofpervertedalues mong hepoor, utratherecause fvaluesnthe argerocietyhat re cceptingf ocialnequality.Where his ulturef nequalityxists,many eoplebelieve hat t s acceptablethat ubstantialnequalitiese allowed opersist.hat s,culturesf nequalityexistwhere hepopulace asa high taste ornequality."n these ontexts,heview revailshat overnments notresponsibleor melioratinghe auses ndproductsfsocial nd economicnequality.hisculturef nequalityeachestshighestormmonghosemodern-dayocial arwinistsho elievehat he rob-lems f he oor,he nemployed,nd he neducatedredueto heirwn ailures(Banfield968). his iew olds hat overnmentnterventionohelp hese roupswill nlyeadtofurtherependency.uch fforts,ccordingothisrgument,nlywaste hemoneyfhardworkingaxpayersMurray984).

Anumberf ocialproblemsreproduced ypersistentoverty, hich xists otbecauseofpervertedalues mong hepoor, utratherbecauseofvalues nthe arger ocietyhat reacceptingf ocial nequality.

In ourconceptualization,nexpressedtaste ornequality"sthe observ-able manifestationfthepresence f a culturef nequality.heformers the



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136 THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICANACADEMY

operationalizationfthe atter. erewe willdevelop his hesis nd use itas aframeworkor hinkingbout hiftsnimprisonmentnd socialwelfareolicies.Weareespeciallynterestedncomparingountrieshat re more omogeneouswithhose hat remore eterogeneous.owever, e alsowant o teaseout ndcompareountries ithnalready eterogeneousopulationase that reexpe-riencingmore mmigrationith ountriesnthe rest f oursample. argeorgrowingumbersf others"n countryrevieweds ncreasinghreatBlalock1967;JacobsndKleban 003), longwith roducinggrowingaste ornequal-ity.Where hat aste ecomes roadlyccepted monghe itizenry,culture finequalitys likelyo emerge.Whenmarked ysuch a culture f nequality,nations re ikelyo nvestess nsocialwelfare nd torespondmore unitivelytocrime. fparticularnterests how heUnited tates, hich ashadunprec-edented ncreasesn imprisonments well as cutbacksn welfare rograms,compareso other ations.

Cultures fInequalityExcept mong egmentsf thegeneral ublic nd somepoliticians,he oldnotionhat persistentubculturefpovertys the auseof ocial roblemsasbeenlargelyiscreditedWilson 987). nstead,most ocial cientistsecognizethat nder omeconditions,tructurednequalitiesead to theemergencefnorms,alues,ndbehavioratternshatmake ife ifficultor oor ommunities(Anderson999;Miller 008).Notably,ampsonnd Bean 2006)contrastldernotionsf he xistencef subculturefpovertyithcontemporarynalyseshatstresshat he ocial solationf hepoor xacerbatesheir recariousocial osi-tionsndproducesounterproductiveehaviorsntheir ommunities.Scholarsre ncreasinglyurningoculture spart f hebroaderxplanationofvariationn nationalimprisonmentates Jacobs nd Kleban2003; Sutton2004).Unable oexplain atternsolely singndicatorsfpolicies rpoliticalleadership,hey peculatehat ocietieshat re morendividualistic,rwillingtoacceptnequality,realso moreikelyo embrace eavy eliance n mprison-ment or ocial ontrol.Consistentith hesethemes, e argue hat ulturesf inequalitywheremanyf hepoliticallyowerfulrthe lectorateave high aste ornequalitydetermineocieties'esponseosocial roblems. here he aste ornequalityslow,llnesssfrequentlyddressed ithwidespreadublic ealth are.Joblessnessandunemploymentringbouttateupportorwelfareenefits.ncontrast,hightaste orinequalityeads o a minimalistelfaretate ndpunitiveriminalusticepractices.eoplewith ighastes orinequalityee the ource f he roblemsithindisadvantagedndividuals,ssuminghathese eople re ndire traitshroughheirown aultnd rguinghatransgressionshould otberewarded ith ealthare,welfare,r criminalusticeystemhat oes nythingtherhan unish.Duringhepost-Greatocietyears,ndespeciallyince he lection fRonaldReagan, heUnited tateshasexperienced idespread,opular cceptancef



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"CULTURES OF INEQUALITY" 137culturef nequalityalues.The result as been dramaticutbacksnwelfare,underheguise f welfareeform,"1ndthe scensionf n educationalhiloso-phy hat ssumeshat veryhildneverychool as the apacityo earn nlessthey,heirarents,r heir eachers ail oputforthufficientffort.2sa resultfthis ncreasen thecollectiveastes or nequality,acial njustices essentiallyreduced o a historicalactwith ittle r no bearingn thecontemporaryifechances fpeople fcolorSowell 981).Thus, ffirmativections nowdefinedasdiscriminationgainstheprivilegedBonilla-Silva,ewis, ndEmbrick004).Most rime s viewed s a consequencef rationalhoices ypeopleunable runwillingodefer ratification.nturn,ocietyespondsarshlyopunishffend-ersandto deter he not-yet-detected"StaffordndWarr 993).From1973to1997,ncarcerationumbersntheUnited tatesncreased ivefoldCaplow ndSimon 999).Wesuggesthat hisncreasesexplainednpart y growingastefornequalityswell spoliticians'illingnessorun or ffice nplatformshatpanderotheview hatubstantialnequalitysacceptablendevenust.In additionoa higherncarcerationate nda much essdeveloped elfarestate pparatusomparedo otherWesternountries,heUnited tates ashis-toricallyad raciallynd thnicallyeterogeneousopulation.nd his eteroge-neitysonlyncreasings a result f mmigration.owever,hangesnthehorizonin otherWesternountries aymake hemookmore imilarotheprofilef heUnited tates. heEuropean nion aspressured embertateso reduce ov-ernmentpendingnd imithewelfaretaten hename f fficiencyEichengreenet al. 1998).There s a perceptionhat rimes a growingroblemnWesternEurope,nd n ome ountrieshenumberfpeople onfinednprisonsasrisen.Canada ndWesternurope re lsobecomingncreasinglyeterogeneous,hichposesthequestion fwhetherheirwelfareenerosityill ontinuenabated.Althoughhepopulationn someEuropean ountries as been substantiallydiverseor ecades, ecentmedia ccountsuggesthat eterogeneitysgrowing.(Manymmigrantsave asy ntryo Westernuropean ountriesecause heyarecitizensyvirtuefbirthn formerolonies.) hus, painhas had ncreasedimmigrationrom atinAmericasee Harter 007,BBC News), ndFrancesMuslimndAfricanmmigrantsave ncreasedsee Astier 005,BBC News).Some videnceinkshe rowthfheterogeneityo ncreasesn thniconflict.orexample,heUnitedKingdomasfaced nationalistic-nativistovement;herehavebeenethnic/religioustressesn the Netherlandssee Hardy 006,BBCNews); nd nGermanynd taly,hepresence f mmigrant/guestorkersascreatedensionsseeBroomby001,BBC News;Lewis 008,BBC News).

Culturesf nequalityndThreatThethreat ypothesisosits hat s a minorityopulationrows,t s morelikelyobeperceiveds a threaty hemajorityBlalock 967).Acts fhostilityaimed t mmigrantsn theUnited tates, pain, nd theUnitedKingdomreexamplesf nti-immigrantentimentsnd actionshat an be explainedy he



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138 THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY

perceptionhat those eople" hreatenhewell-beingnd heobsof deservingnatives."Regardingmprisonment,acobsndhis olleaguesJacobs,armichael,and Kent2005;Jacobs nd Kleban2003) arguethatthe threat hatothersareperceivedo representan helpto explainncreasedentencingeverity.We contendhat hethreateningresence f mmigrants,rothers efinedsoutsidersincludingacial ndethnicminoritieshohavebeenkept tthemar-gins f ocieties increases society'saste ornequality,hichnturn educessupportorwelfare enefitsnd ncreasesunitiveriminalustice ractices.Ofcourse, ome rgue hat ntiotherentimentxists ecauseothersreanactual riminalhreat.ndividualsxplainednti-Latin mericanmmigrantiotsinSpainby ayinghat heywerereactingo mported ang ctivityseeHarter2007,BBC News).The Frenchforeign inisterustifiedunitiveolice ctionsinParis uburbs nthegroundshat herioters eremerely thugs," ho usthappenedo beNorth fricanndMuslimimmigrants."otably, any artici-pants avebeenresidentsfFrance ormore han generationut till re notconsidered o be FrenchHaddad andBalz 2006). In the United tates, hedisproportionatemprisonmentfpeopleofcolor sthoughtymanyosimplybe a functionfhigherrime ates mongminorities.t ishard odisputehathigherevels f riminalnvolvementxplain,npart, isproportionatencarcera-tion fothersntheUnited tates. ut a substantialiteraturee.g.,Blumstein1982;BridgesndCrutchfield988)has addressed his uestion,ndtheweightoftheresultsndicates hat significantmount ftheracial isproportionalityin American risons annotbe accounted or olelybydifferentialriminalinvolvement.rime spart f theexplanation,utwebelieve hatpunishmentpracticesrealso a consequencef ulturesfinequality.

DataandMethodsTonry1997)describes heproblemsnherentncross-nationalcomparativework. e argueshatexplainingross-nationalacial nd thnicdisparities,mmi-grationolicies,ndotherountryharacteristicsanbedifficultince hemean-

ingofrace, thnicity,ndimmigrantlienvaries crossnations. he historicalexperiencef mmigrantsodifferentountrieslsovaries,sdothe entimentsofhost opulationsegardingthers. espite heproblemsnvolved,olid om-parativeorkncriminologyspossiblenduseful hen omparableross-nationaldataare available, rwhendata can be used in a substantivelyomparablefashion. or example,fwe use raceto measure,npart, hepercentagefothersnU.S. prisons, hileusing hepercentagefaliens s a measurentheNetherlands,heresultsmay e expectedo be fairlyomparable.ndeed, singthesemeasures, efind hat heUnited tates ndHolland averoughlyimilarpercentagefothersnprison.Individualttitudesnd heWorld aluesSurveyWVS).Here,weuse ttitudinaldatafrom heWVS,whichsadministeredindependentlycross ountries.he



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"CULTURES OF INEQUALITY" 139four ublished aves re 1) 1981 and1984, 2) 1989 and1993, 3) 1994 and1999, nd 4) 1999 and2004 seewww.worldvaluessurvey.org).hebenefitsfusing heWVS are twofold:1) it makes comparisonfpublic ttitudescrossdifferentountriesossible nd 2) because hedataare at the ndividualevel,itprovidesarge amples, hich llows or comparisonf ttitudes ithinndbetweenountries.We useprincipalomponentactornalysiso create cales hatmeasure urthree ariablesf nterest:1) taste ornequality,2) jobsand mmigrants,nd(3) attitudesboutothers. asteforInequalitys capturedwith hree urveyitems:shouldncomes emademore qual"versus shouldncome ifferencesserve s incentives";ttitudesboutthegovernmentsesponsibilityo ensurethat veryonesprovidedor; nd belief hat competitiontimulateseopletowork ard nddevelopnew deas"versus competitionringsut theworstnpeople."Twoscales are used to measure hreat. obs nd Immigrantsses"shouldmmigrantse allowednonlywhenobsareavailable"nd "whenobsarescarce,hould mployersivepriorityo nationals."ttitudesboutOtherscombine tems hat ndicatewhether espondents indhaving mmigrants,Muslims,rpeopleof differentace sneighbors.or eachof he hree cales,higheralues ndicate reateraste ornequality,essfavorableiews f mmi-grants,nd essfavorableiews fothers,espectively.

Country-levelata.We considereveral ational-leveleasures:heprisonpopulation,otalmmigration,omicideate eronehundredhousandopula-tion as a measure fcrime),3ndthe GINI coefficientf ncomenequality.Sources or hesemeasuresrenotednTable1. Ourdatapertainofifteen VScountryamples f ndividualespondents.epooledwaves and4 of he ur-vey o increase ample ize nsituationshere ountries ere acking ata onquestionnairetems f nterest.We are nterestedncomparingublic ttitudesndpreferences,ndicatingculturesf nequalitynd hreat,cross ountriesroupedccordingo tructuralcharacteristics.or nstance, e are nterestednwhethermoreheterogeneouscountriesiffern certain ttitudesromhose hat re morehomogeneous.AnalysisfvarianceANOVA)swell uited o test he ignificancef hediffer-encesofgroupmeans crossvariables ycomparinghesize of thevariancebetweenampleswith he izeofthevariance ithinamplesHofstede 001).Weuseone-way NOVA,4 hichs similaroperformingf-testf thediffer-enceofmeans.A larger -statistic eans hat heres moredifferencenthemeans cross amples omparedo thevariabilityithinachsample.

ResultsThese esultshould evieweds a demonstrationf heutilityf he ulturef

inequalityonceptndnot s a test f heory.ur ssessment,hichinks astesorinequality,ttitudesbout thers,ndthe ncarcerationfothers,ddressesourexpectations.irst, e expecthat ountriesithmore thers illhave higher



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140 THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYTABLE 1COUNTRY CHARACTERISTICS

Percentage PercentageNumber f "Others"n Homicide "Others"n GiniCountry Prisoners3 Prison3 Rateb Population0 Coefficient*1Austria 7,826 37.6 0.81 15.1 26Belgium 8,843 42.0 1.5 6.9 28Canada 35,110 26.6 1.67 23.3 32.1Finland 3,437 8.5 2.54 3 26France 57,573 21.7 1.64 10.7 28GreatBritain 92,683 19.3 1.11 12.3 28Germany 81,176 11.2 1.86 9.1 25Iceland 112 8.9 1.41 7.8 25Ireland 10,657 16.9 1.12 14.1 33Italy 56,845 29.7 0.99 4.3 33Netherlands 16,183 55.6 0.97 10.1 27Norway 2,562 6.2 1.11 7.4 25.7Spain 50,994 25.4 3.65 11.1 32Sweden 5,630 21.5 2.42 12.4 23USA 1,208,711 59.7 5.62 25.2 45a. Source:EuropeanSourcebook fCrime and Criminal ustice tatistics003 (http://www.europeansourcebook.org/);orUnitedStates, he BureauofJustice tatistics006 Bulletin(http://ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/);orCanada,Correctional ervices anada2002 (http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/ne-eng.shtml)b. Source:UnitedNations urveyfCrimeTrendsndOperationsfCriminal ustice ystemsReport, 003 (httpi/Avww.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/United-Nations-Surveys-on-Crime-Trends-and-the-Operations-of-Criminal-Justice-Systems.html).c. Source:UN Internationaligrationeport 000-2006(http://www.un.org/esa/population);nadditionopercentagemmigrant,orUnited tateswe include ercentagelack U.S. Census2000,http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html);nd forCanada,we include ercentageaboriginalsStatisticsanada, 001,http://wwwl2.statcan.ca/english/census01/home/Index.cfm).d. Source:EuropeanFoundation or he mprovementfLivingndWorkingonditions 005reporthttp://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact2005);orCanada and the United tates,CIA World act Book 2005 (http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact2005).taste ornequalitynd, naccordance ith hethreat ypothesis,illhave essfavorablepinionsfimmigrants.econd,we believe hat t s toosimplisticoassume hathomogeneousountriesifferrommoreheterogeneousountriesnthese ttitudes.ather,ountrieshatalreadyave heterogeneousopulationndstillxperienceighevels fimmigrationill avehigherastes ornequalityndwill lsohavemorenegativettitudesowardthers. his xpectations basedonthecontentionhatheterogeneousationsalreadyave base evel fperceivedthreat.hird,heconsequencesfculturesf nequalityncludemorenegativeattitudesowardthersndharsherunishmentf thers.acobsndhis olleagues(JacobsndKleban 003;Jacobs,armichael,ndKent 005) rguehat nhancedlawenforcementends oaccompanyhreat.inally,e suspecthat heUnited



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"CULTURES OF INEQUALITY" 141Statesmay e differenti.e., caseof Americanexceptionalism")rom heotherWesternountriesnour ample ue to tshistoricallyighevels fheterogeneityand acialonflict,oupled ith ighnequality.s result,heUnited tateshouldhave onsiderablyighermprisonmentf thersomparedo other ountries.Before escribingheresultsf theANOVA,wepresent escriptionsf thecountry-levelata.We cannot onductmultivariatenalysesecause f ur mallsample fcountriesi.e.,fifteen),utthedescriptivetatisticsuggestelation-ships etweennequality,umber f thersnthepopulation,nd mprisonment.Table1 includes eyvaluesfor he fifteenations. omparisonscross lacesreveal hat lthoughhe United tateshas thehighestmprisonmentfothers(59.7percent),heNetherlandss a closerunner-upt 55.6percent.Notably,nthe United tates, 5.2percent fthe total opulations composed fothers;while n theNetherlands,hecomparable igures ust10.1percent.) able2presentsomparisonsf meanhomicide ates, ercentagef national opula-tionsmprisoned,ndproportionf heprison opulationhat sothers or oun-tries hat rehighabove verage)nd ow below verage) ntheproportionftheprison opulationhatsothers,nd the evelofobservednequalityGINIcoefficient).nnations ithargeropulationsf thersndwith reaternequal-ity,here remorehomicides,eople nprison,ndothersnprison. hesepat-terns re n linewith heoreticalredictionsinkingthreatening"opulations,incomenequality,ndcrime ndpunishment.bviously e cannot oncludefromhese ata hat thersreactuallyheonescommittinghemurders,owemust ettlefor heambiguousonclusionhatthesefindingsre consistentwithtudiesonductedn theUnited tates fracial isparitiesn mprisonment(e.g.,BridgesndCrutchfield988).TheWVSdata llow stoexaminehe xpressedttitudesfpeoplewithinndacross hesefifteen esternndustrializedations.We dividedhesamplentocountriesith igh nd ow ncomenequality.able3 comparesmeans or astefornequality,obsand mmigrants,ndattitudesbout thers etween ationswithbove- ndbelow-averageopulationsfothers. ations ith higher ro-portionf thers ave significantlyigheraste ornequalityomparedocoun-trieswith lowproportionf othersn that hey re esssupportivef welfarepoliciesndofgovernmentffortsocorrectconomicnequality.ontraryo ourexpectationsndthe hreatypothesis,ations ithmore thers avemore osi-tive ttitudesboutobsand mmigration,s indicatedythefact hat hey aveless f problemdmittingthers henobsare vailable.hismay eflectespectfor heneedformported orkers,rgreaterontacthathas edto increasedtolerance.owever, hile esidentsfhi$i-othersountrieselcomemmigrantlabor,heyre ess nclinedo be supportivefequalizing elfareolicies.Moreheterogeneousationslsohavemore ositivettitudesowardthers.AsTable3 shows,t snotmorehomogeneousations here espondentsremore olerantf nequality.o examinehe ole fpopulationeterogeneity,noneanalysisdatanotshown), e comparedmeans or urkeyvariableselativeoincreasesn ountries'mmigrationevels.his nalysisidnot ieldignsf ncreasedtaste ornequality,r hangesn he iews f thers,r obs nd mmigration.tmaybethatncreasedeterogeneityasnotyethadanopportunityoappreciablyhift



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142 THE ANNALS F THE AMERICAN CADEMYTABLE 2MEANS OF SELECT VARIABLES BY COUNTRY GROUPINGS

HomicideRate Prison otal Prison Others"High"others"npopulation 2.3 0.17 29.6Low"others"npopulation 1.5 0.08 23.0High-inequalityountries 2.6 0.20 12.3Low-inequalityountries 1.5 0.08 9.5NOTE: n = 15.

TABLE 3ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE FOR THE EFFECTS OF SELECTEDFACTORS GIVEN PERCENTAGE COUNTRY POPULATION THAT IS "OTHER"

Tastefor Jobs nd AttitudesboutInequality Immigration "Others"Country igh others" 0.70 0.97 0.28(means)Countryow"others" 0.60 1.03 0.41(means)Results rom F(l, 23,370)= 84.24 F(l, 27,139)= 47.82 F(l, 26,306)= 198.79ANOVAn 23,372 27,141 26,308*p< .001.attitudes.lso, omenations reexperiencingubstantialin-migrationntopofconsiderableexistingeterogeneity.heUnited tatess a case npoint.5To consider ow ncreasesnothers ombinewithexistingeterogeneityoinfluencehe ulture f nequality,ecompareountries ith large asepopu-lation fothers otherest fthesample. hesecomparisonsrepresentednTable4.Alreadyiverseountries,hich eceivedarge umbersf n-migrants,havehigherastes orinequality.owever,uchnationso notdifferrom thersonattitudesbout mmigrationndjobs.Attitudesbout thers re morenega-tive n homogeneousountrieshan n increasinglyeterogeneousations,findinghatsnot onsistent ith heclassic hreat ypothesis.owever,hesecountries o havesmallnumbers fothers,ndperhaps his s sufficientoengender egativettitudesut nsufficientoallow ormeaningfulontact hatmighteadtofamiliarityndcomfort.Countries ithhighermprisonmentfotherslso,onaverage, avehighertastes orinequalityut realso moreopentoimmigrationf obsareavailable(see Table5). Atthesametime,however,ttitudesboutothers o notvaryacrosscountryroupingsasedonhighnd owimprisonmentfothers.ngen-eral, hese esultsupporthe ulturef nequalityhesis, hile lsodemonstrat-ing hat ttitudesbout thersmay ot, n theirwn, dequatelyxplain elfarepolicies r mprisonment.



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"CULTURES F INEQUALITY" 143TABLE 4ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE FOR THE EFFECTS OF SELECTED FACTORS FORCOUNTRIES WITH HIGH PERCENTAGE "OTHERS" THATALSOEXPERIENCED A HIGH PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN "OTHERS"

Tastefor Jobs nd AttitudesboutInequality Immigration "Others"Countriesf"others" ith 0.72 1.00 0.31

percentagencrease(means)Restofsample means) 0.59 0.99 0.36Results rom NOVA F(l, 23,370)= 133.61 F(l, 27,139)= 1.34 F(l, 26,306)= 34.65n 23,372 27,141 26,308*p< .001.

[I]tappears hat heUnitedtatess similaroits ountryeersnmostomparisons,ut t sdrivinghedifferencenthemean asteorinequalityhen omparingountriesithowandhighmprisonmentfothers.

Thispreliminarynvestigationemonstratesreaterupportor he oncept fculturesf nequalityhantdoesfor he lassichreatypothesis.lthoughhreatneednotdirectlyranslatentonegativettitudesbout thers,tmayncreasetoleranceornequality.orexample,heUnited tates as considerablyighertaste ornequalityseeTable ) buthas lightlyore ositivettitudesbout th-ers6 omparedootherountries. e suggesthat heUnited tatesmighte arelativelynusual asedrivingur results.When heUnited tatess excludedfromhe nalysisdatanot hown),hedifferencesfmeans or aste ornequal-itysattenuatedhen omparingountrieshat rehigh nd owonpercentageothers, utthatdifferenceemains tatisticallyignificant.o differencesnmeans merge or he ther caleswhen heUnited tatess excluded.he meantaste ornequalitys not ignificantlyifferentetweenountries ithow andhigh thersnprisonwhen heUnited tates s excluded rom hesample.nbrief,t ppearshatheUnited tatess similaro ts ountryeersnmost om-parisons,ut t s drivinghe differencen themean aste ornequalityhencomparingountriesithow ndhigh mprisonmentf thers.



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144 THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYTABLE 5ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE FOR THE EFFECTS OF SELECTED FACTORSGIVEN PERCENTAGE COUNTRY PRISON POPULATION THAT IS "OTHER'

Tastefor Jobs nd AttitudesboutInequality Immigration "Others"Country igh ercentage 0.68 0.98 0.34"other"nprisonmeans)Countryowpercentage 0.60 1.01 0.34"other"nprisonmeans)Results rom NOVA F(l, 23,370)= 45.5 F(l, 27,139)= 12.58* F(l, 26,306)= 0.05n 23,372 27,141 26,308y < .ooi.

DiscussionRather handefiningcultures f nequality"nterms f subculturalormsandvalues, s was donewith arly ulture fpovertyrguments,e argue hatacceptancertolerancef nequalityrebeliefs eldby he arger opulation.nturn,ncreasedolerancefinequalityesultsnharsherunitivemeasures. tthe ame ime,he hreatypothesislaimshatwhere here s a perceptionhatothersposea threat,arsherunishmentslso result.Thenotionf culturef nequalitysheuristic,nd ur nalysesuggesthatt sa fruitfulerspectiveor nderstandingomeAmericanublic olicies ithincross-nationalomparison.ngeneral,e findupportorhe ulturef nequalityhesis.Attitudesbout thers,hetherased nrace, thnicity,eligionrnationality,renotenoughoexplainhetreatmentfothersnWesternocieties.ll treatmentappearsorequirenacceptancef ocial nd conomicnequality.In additiono our ross-nationalomparisons,esetout o examine hethertheUnited tates s nfact ifferentrom therWesternndustrializedountries

ontolerance f nequality,ttitudesbout thers,nd mmigrantsnd obs. Inotherwords,we asked whetherhe characteristicsf the UnitedStates reindicativef"Americanxceptionalism."n onehand, he United tates asahigheraste ornequalityhan heother ourteenountriesnour ample. hisappears o be especiallymeaningfuln terms f mprisonmentf others. heUnited tates lsohasthehighestumber fothersnprison.7sFigure illus-trates,y1992, mprisonmentfAfrican mericansnthe United tates ur-passed he mprisonmentfwhites,nd thegapbetween hetwo ontinuedogrow hroughouthe 1990s nd nto he newcentury.ythebeginningfthe1990s,Americans'ttitudes oward overnmentnvolvementn welfare lsobecame essfavorable.At he ame ime s sentimentsowardederalnvolvementnwelfare ecamelessfavorable,ublicopinion olls nthe ate 1980s ndearly nd mid-1990s



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"CULTURES OF INEQUALITY" 145TABLE 6ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE FOR THE EFFECTS OF SELECTED FACTORSCOMPARING THE UNITED STATES WITH INDUSTRIALIZEDWESTERN COUNTRIES

Tastefor Jobs nd AttitudesboutInequality Immigration "Others"United tatesmeans) 0.95 1.03 0.29Restofsample means) 0.61 0.99 0.34Results rom NOVA F(l, 23,370)= 390.67* F(l, 27,139)= 7.18 F(l, 26,306)= 11. 4*n 23,372 27,141 26,308y < .ooi.indicatehatmostAmericanselievedmmigrantsouldgoon welfare nd/ordrain ocial ervices. alluppolls n 1984 and1992 howed hat 9 and64per-cent, espectively,f those urveyedelieved hatmanymmigrantsnduponwelfaresee Lapinski t al. 1997). Similarly, 1994 Harrispoll found hat74percentf hose urveyedelievedmmigrantssemore han heir air hareofgovernmentervicesi.e.,welfare, edical are, nd food tamps). mericanpublicopinionn the 1990s argely avored eepingmmigrantsut. In thisrespect,heUnited tatess somewhatniquencomparisono other ountries.However, e alsofind hat he United tates s fairlyimilar o itspeersonattitudesowardthersnd attitudesboutobsand mmigrants.Given he imitationsf ouranalyses,t s notpossible o conclude hat heimprisonmentfotherssonly productf heperceivedhreat fothersnthepopulation. till,our findingsuggest picture egardinghreat, asteforinequalitynd mprisonmentfothers,hat s more omplexhan s generallythought.o fullynderstandariationn thepushforharsherunishmentndthe mprisonmentfothers,t s mportantoconsider,longwith heperceivedthreatfothers,hehistoryfa nation'sealingswithminorities,s wellas itshistoryf, ndgrowingoleranceor,nequality.

Notes1. In thedebateabout thereal mpact fwelfare eformn thepoor, omeargue hat hepoorarebetter ff ecausethey re essdependentn thegovernment;thers ake hepositionhatprogramshatreplacedAid to FamilieswithDependentChildren ave worked etter; till thers onclude hatpoorpeople'ssufferingas partiallyemporarily itigatedya growingconomyFor a good review, eeLichterndJayakody2002).2. See HannawayndHamilton2008) for review fperformanceased educationssues, hephi-losophy nderlyinghe No ChildLeftBehindAct.3. Comparable uality ross-nationalataforother rimes hat ead to imprisonmento notexist.Homicide smorereliablymeasured ndreported,nd there re fewer ifferencesn how t s countedacrossborders,han or ther ffenses.4. ANOVA ssumes omogeneityfvariances. owever,ursample izesvarycross ountries.hus,wereestimatedheanalyses sing IMANOVA nStata,whichperformsMonteCarlo simulationiven ur



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146 THE ANNALSOF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYFIGURE 1BLACK AND WHITE IMPRISONMENT AND PUBLICSUPPORT FOR FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT IN WELFARE

700000 r j 60

*500000-/ >^^Ap^---^S/--4o|^400000--' p^m^\^^~-^ *^ 30^ 300000 -- jff N. Imprisonmentf gE 200000nnnnn - yd" blackssurpasses - 20 g| 200000nnnnn -^ whites ""10 100000- ""100-I 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1-1980 1990 1992 1994 1996 1999 2001 2003 2005Year

--Blacks --Whites -a- Welfare upport

SOURCE: BureauofJusticetatisticsnd Stimson2004,84).patternfsample izes ndvariances hile ssuminghat hemeans reequal.We found hat hep-valuesofour imulationsrevery imilaro theoriginalesults.5. So tooareAustria, ermany,reatBritain,reland, nd Sweden.6. AsLapinski t al. (1997) demonstrate,mericans end o have favorablepinions f mmigrantsna personal ndculturalevel, hough heymay imultaneouslyelieve hatthey rain ocial ervices.7.The Netherlandss a very loserunner-up.

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Cultures of Inequality"- Ethnicity, Immigration, Social Welfare, And Imprisonment