Prison Labor: The Price of Prisons and the Lasting Effects of Incarceration
Prisons and other justice institutions can be utilised to further economic
and non-legal goals, resulting in long-lasting harmful consequences. We offer
fresh calculations on the worth of jail labour and the impact of sudden changes
in labour demand on incarceration rates. Prison labour proved to be economically
advantageous for the colonial authority, constituting a substantial portion of
the colonial public works budget. During the colonial period, incarceration
rates were elevated due to the occurrence of favourable economic events.
In the postcolonial period, jail labour is no longer a significant aspect of the state public budget, marking a reversal from previous times. We observe a notable decline in present-day confidence in legal establishments, such as the police, in regions that have a substantial historical background of colonial incarceration. The resultant decline in trust is exclusive to contemporary legal institutions.
Introduction
The current number of individuals in prison exceeds any previous record in the entirety of human history. The present worldwide incarcerated population is approximately 11 million individuals, with rates of imprisonment on the rise. The issue of incarceration worldwide has shifted policy discussions towards determining appropriate actions for states to take about this matter.
The substantial population of individuals in custody (Jacobson, Heard, and Fair, 2017). One recommendation for an emerging trend that has gained significant attention in recent years, particularly in countries like the US and China, is to utilize incarcerated individuals for labour in various sectors such as manufacturing, public works projects, firefighting services, and hand-sanitizer production to meet the demands arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The sources cited are Campbell (2020), Chapman (2019), and Doston and Vanfleet (2014). Exclusively in the United States, prison labour provides at least $2 billion annually to industrial output. However, there is a lack of economic study that specifically investigate the incentive problems that may occur when inmates are primarily seen as a source of labour by
Authorities. What are the consequences of treating inmates as objects to be observed and exploited?
Is it a means of providing a workforce to fulfil economic objectives? What are the possible consequences for public perception of state legitimacy that may be influenced by the utilisation of state judicial institutions, such as prisons, to cater to economic interests? The questions are addressed by utilising information from colonial Nigeria, including a specific time frame.
From 1920 to 1959, in this context, jail labour played a significant role in the financial operations of the state. The text focuses on the labour market in post-colonial Nigeria from 1971 to 1995. During a time when jail labour did not play a significant role in the financial operations of the state, we created a unique data set derived from a comprehensive collection of prison data spanning 65 years, from 1920 to 1995.
We collect and compile information regarding prison salaries, prices, and colonial public financing from colonial and postcolonial archives, together with geocoded climate data derived from high-resolution NASA resources,to empirically examine our hypotheses. The objective of this paper is to analyse the correlation between incarceration and economic shocks when utilizing individuals as a significant component of governmental strategy and financial management. In order to examine this matter in regards to the topic, our analysis is carried out in three sequential steps.
Initially, we evaluate the significance of incarceration quantify labor by assesby quantifying worth of uncompensated prison labour and thereafter approximating the portion of it utilized of incarcerated individbyls for economic purposes in the financial systems of colonial societies. One significant revelation from the historical records is that,given as part of an official that it waslonial policy, the use of jail labour on government public works was required. Segment of imprisonmentThe segmenteofated labour served as a crucial component in the development and
Ensuring the upkeep of critical infrastructure that generates significant income, such as the railway, which was utilised to convey agricultural commodities for the purpose of exporting. We present the initial estimates of the monetary worth of uncompensated jail labour in British colonial Africa, based on the most reliable information available to us. The quantification of the total worth of jail labour is determined by the sum of unpaid remuneration allocated to incarcerated workers.
Prison labour proved to be economically advantageous for the colonial regime. Throughout the entire colonial period, the overall gross value of prison labour was consistently positive. After considering the most comprehensive range of expenses related to maintaining prisoners, the value of prison labour was positive and greater than zero in 60% and 57% of the years between 1920 and 1959 in Nigeria, respectively. Prison labour played a substantial role in the allocation of funds for colonial public construction projects.
From 1920 to 1959, the proportion of jail labour in public works spending varied from 40% to 249%, with an average of 101%. After accounting for the considerable expenses associated with maintaining prisoners, the proportion of prison labour in the total expenditure on public works throughout the colonial era remains economically important. On average, it accounts for 5% of the expenditure, with a maximum of 42% during this period.
A History of Forced Labor
Prison labour constituted a minor component of a broader system of compulsory labour inside colonial Africa.
European colonial governments in Africa were assigned the responsibility of implementing measures to optimise income extraction while minimising administrative expenses (Gardner, 2012). The colonial government's ability to generate revenue for essential public works projects, such as roads and railroads, was vital for both extracting revenue from cash crop exports and expanding control over colonies. This relied heavily on the government's capacity to raise revenue through taxation, both direct and indirect, and reduce costs associated with expenditures.
The African colonies consistently experienced labour shortages (Okia, 2012; Ash, 2006). A lackluster job market for government projects, which was a result of artificially low wages set below market rates, contributed to the shortages. These wages were implemented to reduce costs, prevent competition with the private sector, and meet the economic and political demands of white settler employers (Okia, 2012; Maul, 2007; Ofonagoro, 1982).
In response to these limitations, colonial administrations implemented a range of tactics to fulfil labour and financial requirements. These strategies included the implementation of direct taxation, such as hut and poll taxes, which required Africans to make cash payments in order to encourage their participation in the wage labour market.
Additionally, labour tax legislation was used to compel Africans to contribute a specific number of hours of unpaid labour to both private and public sector work. Furthermore, precolonial communal labour requirements were utilised to force Africans, under the supervision of chiefs, to provide unpaid labour for various private and public works projects (Okia, 2012; Harris, 1914; Trevor, 1936; van Waijenburg, 2018; Cooper, 1996).
The colonial regime acknowledged forced labour as a crucial element for the operation of the state. In 1911, the colonial office in Nigeria conducted a survey among commissioners regarding the termination of the House Rule Ordinance, which empowered chiefs to compel labour for the government. The minutes from the meeting reveal that the commissioners expressed concern about the practicality of administration if they were unable to request carriers and paddlers from the Head of a House.
How can we ensure the completion of essential tasks such as sanitation, road construction, and clearing if we cannot hold the person in charge of the household accountable for completing the necessary work? All of them believe that it is impossible to obtain the required workforce, even at an exorbitant cost, which would hinder the advancement and growth of the country. The reference is from Onofagoro's work, published in 1982, on page 2138. Convicts constituted another significant reservoir of coerced labour.
Prison labour constituted a minor component within a broader system of compulsory labour inside colonial Africa.
European colonial governments in Africa were assigned the responsibility of implementing measures to optimise income extraction while minimising administrative expenses (Gardner, 2012). The colonial government's ability to generate revenue for essential public works projects, such as roads and railroads, was vital for both cash crop exports and expanding control over colonies.
This relied heavily on the government's capacity to collect taxes directly or indirectly and reduce associated expenditure costs. African colonies were consistently plagued by labour shortages (Okia, 2012; Ash, 2006). A lackluster job market for government projects, which was a result of artificially low wages set below market rates, contributed to the shortages. These wages were implemented to save costs, prevent competition with the private sector, and meet the economic and political demands of white settler employers (Okia, 2012; Maul, 2007; Ofonagoro, 1982).
In response to these limitations, colonial administrations implemented a range of tactics to fulfil labour and financial requirements. These strategies included the implementation of direct taxation, such as hut and poll taxes, which required Africans to make cash payments in order to encourage their participation in the wage labour market.
Additionally, labour tax legislation was used to compel Africans to contribute a specific number of hours of unpaid labour to both private and public sector work. Furthermore, precolonial communal labour requirements were utilised to force Africans, under the supervision of chiefs, to provide unpaid labour for various private and public works projects (Okia, 2012; Harris, 1914; Trevor, 1936; van Waijenburg, 2018; Cooper, 1996).
The colonial regime acknowledged forced labour as a crucial element for the operation of the state. In a specific case, the colonial office in Nigeria conducted a survey in 1911 among commissioners regarding their preferences for ending the House Rule Ordinance. This ordinance empowered chiefs to compel labour for the government.
The minutes from the meeting reveal that the commissioners expressed their concerns about the administration's ability to function if they were unable to request carriers and paddlers from the Head of a House. How can we ensure the completion of essential tasks such as sanitation, road construction, and clearing if we cannot hold the person in charge of the household accountable for carrying out the required work?
All of them believe that it is impossible to obtain the required workforce, even at an exorbitant cost, which would hinder the advancement and growth of the country. The reference is from Onofagoro's work, published in 1982, on page 2138. Convicts constituted another significant source of coerced labour.
Prison Labor in British Colonial Nigeria
The historical literature identifies two primary rationales for the utilisation of jail labour: Initially, inmates were assigned to work as a means of retribution for their offences, as determined by governing authorities. Additionally, the predominantly unpaid labour performed by criminals was seen as a means of obtaining an inexpensive workforce, especially for industrial ventures in the colonies (Adamson, 1984).
European colonial governments frequently took advantage of the discrepancy between identical offences and their corresponding punishments to deal with financial constraints and shortages of labour (Branch, 2005; Anderson, 2000). During the period of British colonial rule in Nigeria from 1914 to 1960, labour taxes and labour laws were implemented alongside Masters and Servants Ordinances, vagrancy laws, labour registration, pass laws, and Native Authority Ordinances.
These measures enforced the recruitment of African labourers for colonial public works projects (Hynd, 2015). Despite the lack of detailed data on the specific crimes for which individuals were convicted, the existing records from colonial times in Nigeria indicate that more than half of all convictions in colonial courts between 1920 and 1937 were related to violations of revenue laws, municipal regulations, road laws, and other laws pertaining to the social economy of the colony.
In addition to the expansion of oppressive legislation in the colonies, there was a rise in the utilisation of the jail system and convict labour for government infrastructure projects, particularly during the early 1900s (Hynd, 2015; Akurang-Parry, 2000; Abiodun, 2017; Bernault, 2007). Individuals who declined or lacked the means to pay direct or labour taxes, fines for non-payment, or engaged in minor offences against the colonial government or their Native Authorities were apprehended and incarcerated. Subsequently, their labour was exploited for public works projects under colonial rule.
Illustrations of this phenomenon are demonstrated in the writings of Felix Ekechi (1989) and Stacey Hynd (2015):
A significant proportion of the prisoners in the Owerri prison in south-eastern Nigeria were young males who had refused to comply with compulsory labour as stipulated by the labour regulations. Consequently, they were incarcerated and used as convict labour on the Eastern Railway. According to Roger Thomas (1973), in Nigeria and the Gold Coast, convict labour was frequently employed to address labour shortages in cash crop production and mining until the 1920s.
In Nigeria, when it was merged into a single entity in 1914 under the leadership of Sir Frederick Lugard, there was a demand for inexpensive labour. However, local workers were hesitant to work for wages below the market rate on physically demanding projects such as industrial railroads, road construction, and public infrastructure.
To address this issue, Lugard enacted the 1916 Prisons Ordinances Act, which granted the Governor control over the use of prison labour, among other things (Kingdon, 1923; Abiodun, 2017). The Prisons Ordinance, in conjunction with the 1914 Native Courts Ordinance, delineated the operations of Nigeria's dual jail system.
The Director of Prisons oversaw the colonial prisons, while local chiefs mainly oversaw the Native Authority Prisons (Kingdon, 1923). Prison labour was exclusively allowed for government agencies, and inmates were assigned to work inside their respective provincial districts (Kingdon, 1923; Abiodun, 2017; Foreign and Office, 1947).
Colonial prisons had a double purpose. These centres served as hubs for controlling African populations and providing a source of inexpensive labour. This enabled the regime to address persistent labour shortages by supplying government administrators with a consistent stream of prisoner labour (Saleh-Hanna, 2017).
The role of prison labour in the revenues and expenditures of the colonies was so important that in 1911, the Governor of Northern Nigeria noted that the value of prisoners' labour in relation to public works, which would have otherwise required cash payment, amounted to 3,878 pounds, calculated at 2/3 of the market rate. According to Salau (2015), if the convicts' valuable labour was valued at the normal market rates, it would have been worth more than the whole cost of the Prison Department.
Estimating the Value of Prison Labor
In order to evaluate the importance of unpaid jail labour in relation to colonial public works spending, or the monetary worth of prison labour, we converted historical statistics on the prison population, salaries, public works spending, and revenue from the British colonial Blue Books and Annual Report into digital format.
From 1920 to 1959, the Prisons Department was governed. The Blue Books Statistical returns were mandatory submissions that governors of British dependencies had to provide on a yearly basis to provide a comprehensive account of jails and colonial public finance. The years 1920 and 1938 in Nigeria. The Blue Books and the Annual Report also provide qualitative information.
The Director of Prisons provides reports on the actions carried out by prison departments. It is crucial to highlight that the data on colonial prisons only accounts for a portion of the total jail population in Nigeria. There is a dearth of comprehensive information regarding the Native jails that local chiefs oversaw during the colonial era. Archives predating 1940.
The Annual Reports from 1940 contain data regarding the jails specifically dedicated to Native individuals. Demonstrate the inclusion of Native prison statistics in the existing colonial estimations; this document would nearly double the incarceration rate in 1940 to approximately 224 per 100,000, almost doubling its previous value. The population rate is 399 per 100,000 individuals.
This implies that the data we are presenting here originates from the period from 1920 to 1959 and may have underestimated the overall extent of incarceration during this time. Regional disparities in the allocation of colonial jails are evident. Out of the total of 48 prisons documented in 1938, over 90% are situated in the southern regions. The map exists. Only 13% of the total number of jails are specifically designated for Native inmates, which amounts to 9 out of the 65 prisons that have been documented.
The year 1940 is indicated in Figure A2 in the appendix, which is situated in the southern provinces. Historical variations in the extent of precolonial state bureaucracy contribute to disparities in geographical outcomes. Comparison of the prevalence of Native prisoners against colonial prisons (Archibong, 2019). Utilizing accessible data based on data from colonial prisons, we provide lower-bound estimates of the overall worth. During this period, there was an extensive utilisation of prisoner labour.
Empirical Strategy
To assess the worth of convict labour to the colonial government, we employ the approach outlined by van Waijenburg (2018) to calculate the value of unpaid jail labour and its proportionate contribution to the expenses incurred for constructing new colonial public infrastructure. Essentially, we inquire about the cost that the colonial state would have incurred if it had to employ unpaid prison labourers at the prevailing salary rate.
Expenditure on the construction of new public infrastructure in colonial areas. Essentially, we inquire about the extent or quantity Would the colonial state have been obligated to provide compensation if they were to use unpaid prison labourers at the prevailing salary rate?"
The computation of the total worth of uncompensated prison labour in each year is as follows:
This provides us with the total gross value of the benefits that government consumers of jail labour receive. We use the average yearly market earnings paid to unskilled labourers as a metric for measuring wages. This section discusses the pay that inmates receive for performing particular types of work, such as clearing land for road construction and smashing rocks.
Prisonersnt is the mean number of individuals incarcerated in prisons on a daily basis over a span of n days within a given year, as documented in the archival archives. This metric quantifies the quantity of incarcerated labour that was accessible on a specific day. In order to assess the comparative worth of jail labour, we calculate the ratio of the outcomes obtained from Equation 1 to the amounts spent on public works, prison operations, and total expenditures as reported in the Blue Books.
Conclusion
What are the consequences of using inmates as a labour force to fulfil commercial interests in terms of incarceration rates? What are the possible consequences for citizens' perception of the legitimacy of the state when a state judicial institution, such as prison, is utilised to further economic interests? In order to address these inquiries, we initially converted the yearly data from historical sources into a digital format for the British colonial period in Nigeria.
Initially, we demonstrate the economic significance of prisons to the colonial regime. We provide the initial quantitative assessments of the worth of jail labour in British colonial Africa. Our findings indicate that the value of prison labour was consistently positive throughout the colonial era. Despite factoring in a comprehensive range of expenses associated with maintaining prisoners, the overall worth of prison labour remains consistently positive in most years of colonial Nigeria.
Jail labour accounted for a substantial portion of public works spending, at 249% and 42% of the total, based on our calculations of the gross and net values of jail labour, respectively.
We analyse the impact of economic productivity shocks on incarceration rates and the utilisation of prison labour. During the colonial period, we observed that incarceration rates exhibit a positive correlation with economic cycles.
In the colonial period, there was a correlation between moderately positive rainfall shocks and positive export price shocks, which served as indicators of enhanced agricultural production. This correlation led to a rise in incarceration rates and the utilisation of jail labour.
We present empirical data, both quantitative and qualitative, to demonstrate that a key factor contributing to the fluctuating pattern of incarceration rates during the colonial era was the rising need for labour in the construction and upkeep of public infrastructure, such as railroads. This demand for labour was driven by the necessity to enhance the exportation of agricultural goods during periods of favourable increases in productivity.
The need for unpaid jail labour has increased due to labour shortages and tight labour markets, as seen by the growth in incarceration rates. In the postcolonial era, the impact is inverted since prison labour no longer plays a significant role in state policy and public financing. Consequently, negative shocks lead to an increase in incarceration rates.
We examine the consequences of being exposed to prison labour systems on current perceptions of the legitimacy of the state judiciary. Additionally, we give indicative evidence of the adverse long-term impacts of colonial imprisonment on trust in modern legal institutions. We observe a notable decline in present-day confidence in legal establishments, such as the police, in regions with a substantial historical prevalence of colonial incarceration.
The decline in current trust is limited to legal institutions and does not impact interpersonal trust. Previous encounters with judicial systems, such as prisons that prioritise economic interests over the concept of "justice," might diminish individuals' perception of the legitimacy of the state and their trust in legal institutions in the present day. However, exposure to postcolonial captivity does not have the same effect.
With the current discussions resurfacing over the utilisation of incarcerated individuals for labour and the functioning of the legal system on a worldwide scale, particularly in nations such as the United States, China and India.
Also Read:
In the postcolonial period, jail labour is no longer a significant aspect of the state public budget, marking a reversal from previous times. We observe a notable decline in present-day confidence in legal establishments, such as the police, in regions that have a substantial historical background of colonial incarceration. The resultant decline in trust is exclusive to contemporary legal institutions.
Introduction
The current number of individuals in prison exceeds any previous record in the entirety of human history. The present worldwide incarcerated population is approximately 11 million individuals, with rates of imprisonment on the rise. The issue of incarceration worldwide has shifted policy discussions towards determining appropriate actions for states to take about this matter.
The substantial population of individuals in custody (Jacobson, Heard, and Fair, 2017). One recommendation for an emerging trend that has gained significant attention in recent years, particularly in countries like the US and China, is to utilize incarcerated individuals for labour in various sectors such as manufacturing, public works projects, firefighting services, and hand-sanitizer production to meet the demands arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The sources cited are Campbell (2020), Chapman (2019), and Doston and Vanfleet (2014). Exclusively in the United States, prison labour provides at least $2 billion annually to industrial output. However, there is a lack of economic study that specifically investigate the incentive problems that may occur when inmates are primarily seen as a source of labour by
Authorities. What are the consequences of treating inmates as objects to be observed and exploited?
Is it a means of providing a workforce to fulfil economic objectives? What are the possible consequences for public perception of state legitimacy that may be influenced by the utilisation of state judicial institutions, such as prisons, to cater to economic interests? The questions are addressed by utilising information from colonial Nigeria, including a specific time frame.
From 1920 to 1959, in this context, jail labour played a significant role in the financial operations of the state. The text focuses on the labour market in post-colonial Nigeria from 1971 to 1995. During a time when jail labour did not play a significant role in the financial operations of the state, we created a unique data set derived from a comprehensive collection of prison data spanning 65 years, from 1920 to 1995.
We collect and compile information regarding prison salaries, prices, and colonial public financing from colonial and postcolonial archives, together with geocoded climate data derived from high-resolution NASA resources,to empirically examine our hypotheses. The objective of this paper is to analyse the correlation between incarceration and economic shocks when utilizing individuals as a significant component of governmental strategy and financial management. In order to examine this matter in regards to the topic, our analysis is carried out in three sequential steps.
Initially, we evaluate the significance of incarceration quantify labor by assesby quantifying worth of uncompensated prison labour and thereafter approximating the portion of it utilized of incarcerated individbyls for economic purposes in the financial systems of colonial societies. One significant revelation from the historical records is that,given as part of an official that it waslonial policy, the use of jail labour on government public works was required. Segment of imprisonmentThe segmenteofated labour served as a crucial component in the development and
Ensuring the upkeep of critical infrastructure that generates significant income, such as the railway, which was utilised to convey agricultural commodities for the purpose of exporting. We present the initial estimates of the monetary worth of uncompensated jail labour in British colonial Africa, based on the most reliable information available to us. The quantification of the total worth of jail labour is determined by the sum of unpaid remuneration allocated to incarcerated workers.
Prison labour proved to be economically advantageous for the colonial regime. Throughout the entire colonial period, the overall gross value of prison labour was consistently positive. After considering the most comprehensive range of expenses related to maintaining prisoners, the value of prison labour was positive and greater than zero in 60% and 57% of the years between 1920 and 1959 in Nigeria, respectively. Prison labour played a substantial role in the allocation of funds for colonial public construction projects.
From 1920 to 1959, the proportion of jail labour in public works spending varied from 40% to 249%, with an average of 101%. After accounting for the considerable expenses associated with maintaining prisoners, the proportion of prison labour in the total expenditure on public works throughout the colonial era remains economically important. On average, it accounts for 5% of the expenditure, with a maximum of 42% during this period.
A History of Forced Labor
Prison labour constituted a minor component of a broader system of compulsory labour inside colonial Africa.
European colonial governments in Africa were assigned the responsibility of implementing measures to optimise income extraction while minimising administrative expenses (Gardner, 2012). The colonial government's ability to generate revenue for essential public works projects, such as roads and railroads, was vital for both extracting revenue from cash crop exports and expanding control over colonies. This relied heavily on the government's capacity to raise revenue through taxation, both direct and indirect, and reduce costs associated with expenditures.
The African colonies consistently experienced labour shortages (Okia, 2012; Ash, 2006). A lackluster job market for government projects, which was a result of artificially low wages set below market rates, contributed to the shortages. These wages were implemented to reduce costs, prevent competition with the private sector, and meet the economic and political demands of white settler employers (Okia, 2012; Maul, 2007; Ofonagoro, 1982).
In response to these limitations, colonial administrations implemented a range of tactics to fulfil labour and financial requirements. These strategies included the implementation of direct taxation, such as hut and poll taxes, which required Africans to make cash payments in order to encourage their participation in the wage labour market.
Additionally, labour tax legislation was used to compel Africans to contribute a specific number of hours of unpaid labour to both private and public sector work. Furthermore, precolonial communal labour requirements were utilised to force Africans, under the supervision of chiefs, to provide unpaid labour for various private and public works projects (Okia, 2012; Harris, 1914; Trevor, 1936; van Waijenburg, 2018; Cooper, 1996).
The colonial regime acknowledged forced labour as a crucial element for the operation of the state. In 1911, the colonial office in Nigeria conducted a survey among commissioners regarding the termination of the House Rule Ordinance, which empowered chiefs to compel labour for the government. The minutes from the meeting reveal that the commissioners expressed concern about the practicality of administration if they were unable to request carriers and paddlers from the Head of a House.
How can we ensure the completion of essential tasks such as sanitation, road construction, and clearing if we cannot hold the person in charge of the household accountable for completing the necessary work? All of them believe that it is impossible to obtain the required workforce, even at an exorbitant cost, which would hinder the advancement and growth of the country. The reference is from Onofagoro's work, published in 1982, on page 2138. Convicts constituted another significant reservoir of coerced labour.
Prison labour constituted a minor component within a broader system of compulsory labour inside colonial Africa.
European colonial governments in Africa were assigned the responsibility of implementing measures to optimise income extraction while minimising administrative expenses (Gardner, 2012). The colonial government's ability to generate revenue for essential public works projects, such as roads and railroads, was vital for both cash crop exports and expanding control over colonies.
This relied heavily on the government's capacity to collect taxes directly or indirectly and reduce associated expenditure costs. African colonies were consistently plagued by labour shortages (Okia, 2012; Ash, 2006). A lackluster job market for government projects, which was a result of artificially low wages set below market rates, contributed to the shortages. These wages were implemented to save costs, prevent competition with the private sector, and meet the economic and political demands of white settler employers (Okia, 2012; Maul, 2007; Ofonagoro, 1982).
In response to these limitations, colonial administrations implemented a range of tactics to fulfil labour and financial requirements. These strategies included the implementation of direct taxation, such as hut and poll taxes, which required Africans to make cash payments in order to encourage their participation in the wage labour market.
Additionally, labour tax legislation was used to compel Africans to contribute a specific number of hours of unpaid labour to both private and public sector work. Furthermore, precolonial communal labour requirements were utilised to force Africans, under the supervision of chiefs, to provide unpaid labour for various private and public works projects (Okia, 2012; Harris, 1914; Trevor, 1936; van Waijenburg, 2018; Cooper, 1996).
The colonial regime acknowledged forced labour as a crucial element for the operation of the state. In a specific case, the colonial office in Nigeria conducted a survey in 1911 among commissioners regarding their preferences for ending the House Rule Ordinance. This ordinance empowered chiefs to compel labour for the government.
The minutes from the meeting reveal that the commissioners expressed their concerns about the administration's ability to function if they were unable to request carriers and paddlers from the Head of a House. How can we ensure the completion of essential tasks such as sanitation, road construction, and clearing if we cannot hold the person in charge of the household accountable for carrying out the required work?
All of them believe that it is impossible to obtain the required workforce, even at an exorbitant cost, which would hinder the advancement and growth of the country. The reference is from Onofagoro's work, published in 1982, on page 2138. Convicts constituted another significant source of coerced labour.
Prison Labor in British Colonial Nigeria
The historical literature identifies two primary rationales for the utilisation of jail labour: Initially, inmates were assigned to work as a means of retribution for their offences, as determined by governing authorities. Additionally, the predominantly unpaid labour performed by criminals was seen as a means of obtaining an inexpensive workforce, especially for industrial ventures in the colonies (Adamson, 1984).
European colonial governments frequently took advantage of the discrepancy between identical offences and their corresponding punishments to deal with financial constraints and shortages of labour (Branch, 2005; Anderson, 2000). During the period of British colonial rule in Nigeria from 1914 to 1960, labour taxes and labour laws were implemented alongside Masters and Servants Ordinances, vagrancy laws, labour registration, pass laws, and Native Authority Ordinances.
These measures enforced the recruitment of African labourers for colonial public works projects (Hynd, 2015). Despite the lack of detailed data on the specific crimes for which individuals were convicted, the existing records from colonial times in Nigeria indicate that more than half of all convictions in colonial courts between 1920 and 1937 were related to violations of revenue laws, municipal regulations, road laws, and other laws pertaining to the social economy of the colony.
In addition to the expansion of oppressive legislation in the colonies, there was a rise in the utilisation of the jail system and convict labour for government infrastructure projects, particularly during the early 1900s (Hynd, 2015; Akurang-Parry, 2000; Abiodun, 2017; Bernault, 2007). Individuals who declined or lacked the means to pay direct or labour taxes, fines for non-payment, or engaged in minor offences against the colonial government or their Native Authorities were apprehended and incarcerated. Subsequently, their labour was exploited for public works projects under colonial rule.
Illustrations of this phenomenon are demonstrated in the writings of Felix Ekechi (1989) and Stacey Hynd (2015):
A significant proportion of the prisoners in the Owerri prison in south-eastern Nigeria were young males who had refused to comply with compulsory labour as stipulated by the labour regulations. Consequently, they were incarcerated and used as convict labour on the Eastern Railway. According to Roger Thomas (1973), in Nigeria and the Gold Coast, convict labour was frequently employed to address labour shortages in cash crop production and mining until the 1920s.
In Nigeria, when it was merged into a single entity in 1914 under the leadership of Sir Frederick Lugard, there was a demand for inexpensive labour. However, local workers were hesitant to work for wages below the market rate on physically demanding projects such as industrial railroads, road construction, and public infrastructure.
To address this issue, Lugard enacted the 1916 Prisons Ordinances Act, which granted the Governor control over the use of prison labour, among other things (Kingdon, 1923; Abiodun, 2017). The Prisons Ordinance, in conjunction with the 1914 Native Courts Ordinance, delineated the operations of Nigeria's dual jail system.
The Director of Prisons oversaw the colonial prisons, while local chiefs mainly oversaw the Native Authority Prisons (Kingdon, 1923). Prison labour was exclusively allowed for government agencies, and inmates were assigned to work inside their respective provincial districts (Kingdon, 1923; Abiodun, 2017; Foreign and Office, 1947).
Colonial prisons had a double purpose. These centres served as hubs for controlling African populations and providing a source of inexpensive labour. This enabled the regime to address persistent labour shortages by supplying government administrators with a consistent stream of prisoner labour (Saleh-Hanna, 2017).
The role of prison labour in the revenues and expenditures of the colonies was so important that in 1911, the Governor of Northern Nigeria noted that the value of prisoners' labour in relation to public works, which would have otherwise required cash payment, amounted to 3,878 pounds, calculated at 2/3 of the market rate. According to Salau (2015), if the convicts' valuable labour was valued at the normal market rates, it would have been worth more than the whole cost of the Prison Department.
Estimating the Value of Prison Labor
In order to evaluate the importance of unpaid jail labour in relation to colonial public works spending, or the monetary worth of prison labour, we converted historical statistics on the prison population, salaries, public works spending, and revenue from the British colonial Blue Books and Annual Report into digital format.
From 1920 to 1959, the Prisons Department was governed. The Blue Books Statistical returns were mandatory submissions that governors of British dependencies had to provide on a yearly basis to provide a comprehensive account of jails and colonial public finance. The years 1920 and 1938 in Nigeria. The Blue Books and the Annual Report also provide qualitative information.
The Director of Prisons provides reports on the actions carried out by prison departments. It is crucial to highlight that the data on colonial prisons only accounts for a portion of the total jail population in Nigeria. There is a dearth of comprehensive information regarding the Native jails that local chiefs oversaw during the colonial era. Archives predating 1940.
The Annual Reports from 1940 contain data regarding the jails specifically dedicated to Native individuals. Demonstrate the inclusion of Native prison statistics in the existing colonial estimations; this document would nearly double the incarceration rate in 1940 to approximately 224 per 100,000, almost doubling its previous value. The population rate is 399 per 100,000 individuals.
This implies that the data we are presenting here originates from the period from 1920 to 1959 and may have underestimated the overall extent of incarceration during this time. Regional disparities in the allocation of colonial jails are evident. Out of the total of 48 prisons documented in 1938, over 90% are situated in the southern regions. The map exists. Only 13% of the total number of jails are specifically designated for Native inmates, which amounts to 9 out of the 65 prisons that have been documented.
The year 1940 is indicated in Figure A2 in the appendix, which is situated in the southern provinces. Historical variations in the extent of precolonial state bureaucracy contribute to disparities in geographical outcomes. Comparison of the prevalence of Native prisoners against colonial prisons (Archibong, 2019). Utilizing accessible data based on data from colonial prisons, we provide lower-bound estimates of the overall worth. During this period, there was an extensive utilisation of prisoner labour.
Empirical Strategy
To assess the worth of convict labour to the colonial government, we employ the approach outlined by van Waijenburg (2018) to calculate the value of unpaid jail labour and its proportionate contribution to the expenses incurred for constructing new colonial public infrastructure. Essentially, we inquire about the cost that the colonial state would have incurred if it had to employ unpaid prison labourers at the prevailing salary rate.
Expenditure on the construction of new public infrastructure in colonial areas. Essentially, we inquire about the extent or quantity Would the colonial state have been obligated to provide compensation if they were to use unpaid prison labourers at the prevailing salary rate?"
The computation of the total worth of uncompensated prison labour in each year is as follows:
This provides us with the total gross value of the benefits that government consumers of jail labour receive. We use the average yearly market earnings paid to unskilled labourers as a metric for measuring wages. This section discusses the pay that inmates receive for performing particular types of work, such as clearing land for road construction and smashing rocks.
Prisonersnt is the mean number of individuals incarcerated in prisons on a daily basis over a span of n days within a given year, as documented in the archival archives. This metric quantifies the quantity of incarcerated labour that was accessible on a specific day. In order to assess the comparative worth of jail labour, we calculate the ratio of the outcomes obtained from Equation 1 to the amounts spent on public works, prison operations, and total expenditures as reported in the Blue Books.
Conclusion
What are the consequences of using inmates as a labour force to fulfil commercial interests in terms of incarceration rates? What are the possible consequences for citizens' perception of the legitimacy of the state when a state judicial institution, such as prison, is utilised to further economic interests? In order to address these inquiries, we initially converted the yearly data from historical sources into a digital format for the British colonial period in Nigeria.
Initially, we demonstrate the economic significance of prisons to the colonial regime. We provide the initial quantitative assessments of the worth of jail labour in British colonial Africa. Our findings indicate that the value of prison labour was consistently positive throughout the colonial era. Despite factoring in a comprehensive range of expenses associated with maintaining prisoners, the overall worth of prison labour remains consistently positive in most years of colonial Nigeria.
Jail labour accounted for a substantial portion of public works spending, at 249% and 42% of the total, based on our calculations of the gross and net values of jail labour, respectively.
We analyse the impact of economic productivity shocks on incarceration rates and the utilisation of prison labour. During the colonial period, we observed that incarceration rates exhibit a positive correlation with economic cycles.
In the colonial period, there was a correlation between moderately positive rainfall shocks and positive export price shocks, which served as indicators of enhanced agricultural production. This correlation led to a rise in incarceration rates and the utilisation of jail labour.
We present empirical data, both quantitative and qualitative, to demonstrate that a key factor contributing to the fluctuating pattern of incarceration rates during the colonial era was the rising need for labour in the construction and upkeep of public infrastructure, such as railroads. This demand for labour was driven by the necessity to enhance the exportation of agricultural goods during periods of favourable increases in productivity.
The need for unpaid jail labour has increased due to labour shortages and tight labour markets, as seen by the growth in incarceration rates. In the postcolonial era, the impact is inverted since prison labour no longer plays a significant role in state policy and public financing. Consequently, negative shocks lead to an increase in incarceration rates.
We examine the consequences of being exposed to prison labour systems on current perceptions of the legitimacy of the state judiciary. Additionally, we give indicative evidence of the adverse long-term impacts of colonial imprisonment on trust in modern legal institutions. We observe a notable decline in present-day confidence in legal establishments, such as the police, in regions with a substantial historical prevalence of colonial incarceration.
The decline in current trust is limited to legal institutions and does not impact interpersonal trust. Previous encounters with judicial systems, such as prisons that prioritise economic interests over the concept of "justice," might diminish individuals' perception of the legitimacy of the state and their trust in legal institutions in the present day. However, exposure to postcolonial captivity does not have the same effect.
With the current discussions resurfacing over the utilisation of incarcerated individuals for labour and the functioning of the legal system on a worldwide scale, particularly in nations such as the United States, China and India.
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