Coal industry crime, green criminology and the treadmill of production

What is it about?

This study situates crime in the coal industry in relation to treadmill of production theory and builds on prior studies examining the empirical relationship between corporate crime and political influence. A case-cross over design is employed. Political donations significantly impact the odds of criminal enforcement against coal companies (odds ratio = 6.36).

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Why is it important?

Treadmill of production theory is a well known sociological approach for discussing ecological issues. It has not been widely applied to issues of corporate environmental crime. This early empirical study indicates that treadmill theory has some utility in explaining the likelihood that environmental law violations are penalized and provide empirical support for both green criminological and radical criminological explanations of green/corporate crime.