From one crisis (1929) to another (2008) : discussion of some critical issues in the framework of a long-term political economy of punishment

The wide angle adopted for our long-term analysis of Belgian data allows us to place in perspective two crucial moments of economic history, the two financial crises of 1929 and 2008. Economists have established several parallels between these two historical periods and our long-term approach provides an opportunity to examine their respective impacts in terms of punishment. Notwithstanding the short hindsight for the second crisis, key issues are emerging from the analysis of both discourses and statistical (national and international) indicators, both in the socioeconomic and political spheres and in the penal field. Could the recent crisis and its consequences predict that we are at a threshold in terms of the use of punishment? Which ‘ingredients’ are at stake in the possible future trends? We propose to explore these questions in light of some available data.