Chris Uggen

New! Participatory research study in a women's prison tests for effects of inside/incarcerated v. outside/university interviewers. Responses were similar but some trust & confidentiality concerns arose with insiders.
-Kevin Wright, Jacob Young & Alexis Klemm in JoEC link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Happy Rivalry Week to all who celebrate.

No Cole Shortage on Local Hockey All-Star Team

Good Morning!

A well-researched story of church-sanctioned child sexual abuse, in which apology without accountability resulted in impunity and great harm to victims. www.startribune.com/sexual-abuse...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: FFJC Presents: Legal Plunder – A Moderated Discussion with the Authors. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. We are excited to invite you to an informative panel discussion with Joe Soss and Joshua Page, the authors of Legal Plunder: The Predatory Dimensions of Criminal Justice, a book exploring how fines an...

Book talk! @FinesandFeesJC on Legal Plunder – A moderated discussion with Josh Page, Joe Soss, and Joanna Weiss

Dec 3, 2025 11:00 AM CT
Register for the webinar or in-person talk at NYU Law here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Time Series Chart of the Day:
Bitcoin Price and "Wrench Attacks"
[gift article] www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/b...

The News is Grim Across the Board but www.presspubs.com/white_bear/n...

Coercion and Monopsony in Modern American Manufacturing: Evidence from Alabama Prison Labor Susan Helper Suresh Naidu Akseli Palomaki Adam Reich Aaron Sojourner We study coercion and monopsony in contemporary U.S. manufacturing labor markets. We combine administrative data from the Alabama Department of Corrections work release program with a unique survey of workers in the Alabama auto supply chain where workers report their work-release status. We first present descriptive patterns of work-release labor, finding that the use of incarcerated (i.e., work-release) labor is concentrated in the auto supply industry, especially in the Montgomery area, where Hyundai’s assembly plant is located. In the survey, the share of plant-level workers who are incarcerated is negatively correlated with non-incarcerated wages. The survey also enables estimation of hypothetical quit elasticities separately among incarcerated and non-incarcerated workers. Incarcerated workers are estimated to have quit elasticities less than half that of non-incarcerated workers. Because Alabama law requires employers to pay the same wage to incarcerated and non-incarcerated workers in the same jobs, the additional monopsony power introduced by employer access to incarcerated workers creates an incentive and ability for employers to reduce plant-level wages to, and employment of, non-incarcerated workers. We build a quantitative model of firm-specific labor supply that, for incarcerated workers, distinguishes the roles of coercion (the risk of physical harm in prison from not working), wage garnishment that blunts the consumption effect of higher wages, and monopsony (limited mobility across employers). Using it, we estimate effects on free and incarcerated workers’ welfare from i) reforming prison conditions to eliminate violence, ii) eliminating prison labor wage garnishment, iii) imposing a $15 minimum wage, &iv) abolishing prison labor. Free worker welfare goes up in all scenarios...

How does employer access to prisoners’ labor through work release impact the well-being of those workers & of free workers?

New working paper by Sue Helper, Suresh Naidu, Akseli Palomaki, Adam Reich, + me provides evidence, focus on auto manufacturing in AL
#EconSky
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Doug's been working out! Happy Halloween from Luna, Tianhe, Sara the Purple Line, Tatum, Mallory, Chris, Dougie Balboa, Jake the Stormtrooper, and all your friends @thesocietypages.bsky.social

Hemp-based psychoactive use and risk among young adults: Trend theory, policy, and regulation beyond legality Hemp-based psychoactives comprise a burgeoning legal substance market with rising trends in use across the U.S. and Canada as well as parts of Europe.…

A key takeaway from Pawson & Kelly (2024): "In the absence of hemp specific policies, substantial variations in product potencies, insufficient dosing information, and unscrupulous product packaging practices may increase related risks." www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Keith Ellison, 38 other attorneys general ask Congress to ban intoxicating hemp products The Attorney General’s Office says it doesn’t want to shut down Minnesota’s legal hemp-derived THC market. But one lawyer said “this would kill our industry.”

Some important legal developments re: closing the "hemp loophole" for psychoactives such as delta-8 THC. Sociologists Mark Pawson & Brian Kelly gave an enlightening talk on use, risk, and regulation at the fall ASA meetings. [1/2] www.startribune.com/hemp-ban-att...

This week's Clippings of Soc in the News: @lizchiarello.bsky.social in @us.theconversation.com,
Patrick Sheehan in Arts X Science Magazine, Charles Derber in @thenation.com, @nancyberns.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com, & Abigail Coplin in @washingtonpost.com.

Read it here:
🔗 bit.ly/3KXjSEd 🔗

Jobs at CJARS -- U of Michigan's Crim. Justice Admin. Records System, a non-partisan, non-profit org building integrated data platforms on the US criminal legal system.

cjars.org/get-involved/

* Data Collection Liaison
* Web Scraping Programmer
* Research Associate

New! How prison social climate (esp. respectful and trusting relationships b/w residents and staff) can shape post-release socioemotional well-being (less unhappiness, more satisfying relationships, and more social acceptance).
-Jason Schnittker in SSM-MH www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Would've paired nicely with a "KAT Shreds Memphis" headline...

New! In Journal of Vocational Behavior: "Pathways to second chances: A multidisciplinary integrative review of 25 years of research on the employment of formerly incarcerated individuals," by CA Gorman, SC Tucker, TK Patel, JR Himmler, TF Contreras. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

About the NIA DECC Demography & Economics of Aging Coordinating Center (DECC) Contact us at decc@umn.edu Co-Directors: Gina Rumore, Cathy Fitch, and Rob Warren We aim to increase the efficiency, productivity, and impac...

Jobs! ISRDI @minnpop.bsky.social is searching for 2 full-time staff for a new National Institute on Aging Demography and Economics Coordinating Center (NIA DECC).

1. DECC Coordinator, JO 370494: hr.myu.umn.edu/psc/hrprd/EM...

2. Communications Manager, JO 370497 - hr.myu.umn.edu/psc/hrprd/EM...

Last week I was honored to speak at the National Research Program on Crime meeting in Stockholm—and to rediscover some family roots! The visit was a real career highlight. Tack så mycket to Hans Grönqvist, the Swedish Research Council & many new friends and old (photo credit: PO Wikström).

Tolkkinen: Minnesota’s Constitution allows $1-an-hour labor for inmates. Should it? In two rural counties, that labor is being used to build affordable housing.

Prison Labor and Affordable Housing

“At minimum, incarcerated workers housed in county jails deserve a pay increase to cover the higher cost of living in a county jail… [and] Minnesotans need to wrestle with the language in our own state constitution.” www.startribune.com/tolkkinen-mi...

New! 2 assistant research professor positions now open with Jordan Hyatt & team at Drexel to help lead, manage, coordinate & support projects on prison conditions, Scandinavian justice, legal financial obligations, sentencing, autism, & housing.

Details: careers.drexel.edu/cw/en-us/job...

YouTube video by WCCO - CBS Minnesota Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith launches new U of M music scholarship

New UofMN music scholarship is a fine way for RHCP drummer to honor his parents, music teachers, & fellow musicians. Can't wait for the halftime show (& marching band drum-off?) on Oct. 11. And his enthusiasm here reminds me how HS music ed changed my life too. youtu.be/Aauv2yii78w?... via @YouTube

U of M crowns most ‘performative male,’ bringing TikTok trend to life Contestants held tote bags, drank matcha and poked fun at the new Gen Z archetype.

“It was sometimes a tricky needle to thread … And some of Friday’s contestants couldn’t help slipping into sincerity.” www.startribune.com/university-m...

New! How time since conviction and exposure to "redemption research" on risk of reoffense affect employers' willingness to call back job applicants with criminal records. -Chae Jaynes, Mateus Rennó Santos, Danielle Thomas & Katelyn Smith in J. of Crim Justice www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Anderson and @nclc4consumers.bsky.social call to:
* Eliminate medical fees; mandate free, adequate care
* Stop collection & discharge outstanding medical debt
* Bar contractors from profiting off carceral medical services/devices
* Increase Medicaid and Medicare access in prisons and jails

Medical Debt Behind Bars - Anna Anderson - Inquest Incarcerated people accrue debt for nearly all of their medical care. This makes a mockery of their right to health care—and saddles them with devastating debt upon release.

New! Anna Anderson on Medical Debt Behind Bars

Incarcerated people have a constitutional right to care but often lack access to insurance and must bear the costs (and debt) of copays, fees, medications, emergency charges, and ambulance & hospital bills. inquest.org/medical-debt...

Father of Annunciation victim Fletcher Merkel calls into KDWB radio Jesse Merkel asked Falen & Colt to replay his son’s on-air segment.

Sharing a victim’s cherished memory brings a moment of comfort to the survivors — and the community. And reminds us that “the small interactions we have, that maybe we don’t even think twice about, can have a totally different impact on someone else.” www.startribune.com/annunciation...

How one European manufacturer is adjusting to US import tariffs in the vital (for me, at least) custom guitar pick industry:

65,000 Pennsylvania kids have a parent in prison or jail − here’s what research says about the value of in-person visits In-person visits in prisons and jails can strengthen family relationships and reduce recidivism.

"Video visits are good as it fits into their schedule, but they are not the same. … Giving your child a hug is worth a hundred video visits.” theconversation.com/65-000-penns...

Active Shooter Drills in Schools: Protecting Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Health Active Shooter Drills in Schools: Protecting Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Health

New National Academies report on school active shooter drills (free download) calls for:
-trauma-informed drills
-ban high-sensorial, hyper-realistic, deceptive drills
-national guidance
-staff & police training
-accessibility & equity
-research & funding nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/291...