>By this logic there ought to be many more imprisoned in
>Europe, where labor markets are slack and unemployment
>higher, and less here, where they are tight. Is this
>not the opposite of the facts, and thus, wouldn't that
>suggest other factors loom much larger?
Unemployment is actually higher here than official statistics reflect since the prison population isn't counted, nor are people who have given up looking for work, etc. Also, Europe is much more socialist than the US - social safety nets are much better, people get free education and free/subsidized health care, and so on.
Brett