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Thesis advisor: Peter N. Ireland / This dissertation consists of two chapters. The first chapter: Does going to prison increase the chance that one eventually applies for U.S. disability insurance (DI)? Since the 1980's, there have been substantial increases in both the number of people who have been incarcerated and the number of people applying for DI. Both increases have caused higher costs to taxpayers. While several studies have explored the causes of the increased DI applications and several others have looked at the labor outcomes of ex-inmates, no study has yet asked whether prison itself has any effect on the DI application process. Prison, with its harsh conditions, could cause physical and mental disabilities that increase the chance of a DI application. Properly measuring this, however, requires considering any endogeneity that predisposes ex-inmates to a DI application prior to incarceration. To do this, I use the instruments of states' minimum wages and legal high school drop-out ages to explore the effect of increasing incarceration numbers on state-level DI applications. I find that prison does have a significant effect on DI applications; a 1.0% increase in incarceration causes approximately a 0.5% increase in DI applications six years after the initial increase in incarceration numbers. I find that prison's effect is especially strong for a means-tested group who also concurrently applies to Supplemental Security Income (SSI); here a 1.0% increase in prison leads to a 0.9% increase in people who apply for both DI and SSI after a six year lag. This suggests lower income groups are more sensitive to incarceration. Also, the cost of imprisonment should take into account the cost of subsequent DI applications and awards. The second chapter: This paper assesses the specific case of when a monopolist manufacturer producing two types of goods is allowed to bundle the goods when selling to retailers who are allowed to re-sell the goods individually, have territorial market power and have heterogeneity in the resale demand functions. While the literature covers bundling in a variety of forms, no paper has considered the effect that the presence of multiple retailers may have on an upstream manufacturer who bundles and how benefits to bundling may accrue to consumers, retailers, and manufacturer in the presence of retailer heterogeneity. It is shown that under plausible circumstances, the ability of a retailer to retain profit in the face of bundling may prevent consumers in other markets from realizing greater welfare-enhancing effects although bundling in these cases at least weakly improves consumer welfare and never diminishes it. It is also shown by example, that in the case of three retailers, some retailers may actually profit more when the upstream manufacturer bundles while other retailers may profit less. This suggests that in certain cases some retailers may even favor upstream bundling as their interests align with that of the manufacturer. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics.

Parental incarceration is a serious problem in the United States, due to the significant number of parents and children impacted by incarceration. The sizable number of individuals incarcerated in the United States has resulted in the development of forensics as a growing field that requires social workers to integrate a working knowledge into their professional practice. The researcher hypothesized social work students who had personal and/or professional experience with the criminal justice system have a more favorable attitude towards incarcerated parents and are more willing to work with this population. Quantitative data was collected via surveys constructed and administered through the online Qualtrics data collection program from a sample of 79 social work students attending a school of social work at a university in Southern California. The data was analyzed using a Chi-Squared statistical analysis test using the SPSS data analysis software program. Significant findings were found that supported the hypothesis. A significant relationship was found between the status of having visited someone in jail or prison for personal reasons, as well as having someone close who was previously incarcerated, along with having the willingness to work with children of incarcerated parents in the future. Also, a significant relationship was found between a participant’s ethnicity, wanting to work with children of incarcerated parents in the future, with believing incarcerated parents and their children are an underserved population, and believing social workers are an important part of the rehabilitation process for incarcerated parents. Participants’ gender and the belief incarcerated parents could benefit from learning parenting skills was also found to be significant. This study also found having personal experience with incarcerated individuals may impact a social work student’s willingness to work with incarcerated populations. Lastly, the results and findings of this study contribute to the body of research focused on introducing social work students, who have a willingness to work with incarcerated populations, to the field of forensics with the goal of increasing the number of social workers working with incarcerated parents.

Alcohol abuse is positively associated with incarceration and is the most common substance abuse problem among offenders. However, most prisons and jails do not offer alcohol treatment and only 10% of offenders who need treatment receive it. Among those who do receive treatment, alcohol-related problems following release and recidivism are drastically reduced. Guided by the Socio-Cultural Framework for Health Services Disparities, this dissertation sought to describe past and future trends of treatment utilization in correctional settings, as well as identify predictors of treatment completion among offenders with alcohol as their primary substance of abuse. Racial/ethnic disparities have been identified repeatedly throughout the criminal justice system (CJS) and include the underrepresentation of racial/ethnic minorities in treatment in prisons and jails. Therefore, racial/ethnic disparities were a primary focus of this research. Study 1 used the Treatment Episode Dataset – Admissions (1992-2014) to compare racial/ethnic differences in treatment utilized in a correctional setting (versus non-correctional settings) among treatment-seekers with alcohol as their primary substance of abuse (n=5,565,884). A higher within-group proportion of African Americans (2.4%) received treatment in a prison or jail, versus 1.2% of Whites and 1.1% of Hispanics. Using forecasted estimates from a generalized linear model (2015-2025), African American men had significantly higher odds of utilizing treatment in a correctional setting in 2025, compared to White men (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.52, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 1.45-1.60). No significant difference between Hispanics and Whites was identified. Study 2 used the Treatment Episode Dataset – Discharges (TEDS-D) (2006-2014) to model treatment completion with individual and system-level factors among offenders with alcohol as their primary substance of abuse (n=23,655). African Americans had 29% lower odds of treatment completion compared to Whites (aOR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.65-0.76). African Americans and Hispanics referred to treatment by the CJS demonstrated lower odds of treatment completion, compared to Whites also referred by the CJS (aOR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.57-0.70; and aOR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.74-0.98, respectively). African Americans and Hispanics referred by the CJS demonstrated even lower odds of treatment completion, compared to Whites referred by any non-CJS source (aOR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.41, 0.61; aOR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.57-0.97, respectively). Study 3 used a reduced TEDS-D dataset (2013-2014) to investigate state-level characteristics and treatment completion (n=3,798). Whites and Hispanics were largely unaffected by state-level factors. Among African Americans, those in states where the level of alcohol consumption was high (versus low) and in states which spent a higher percent of their budget on corrections (versus lower) were less likely to complete treatment (aOR = 0.11, 95% CI = 0.02-0.55; and aOR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.08-0.75, respectively). African Americans in states where the incarceration disparity was high between Hispanics and Whites (versus low) and in states with a high percentage of Republican legislators (versus low) were more likely to complete treatment (aOR = 4.39, 95% CI = 1.10, 17.50; and aOR = 3.88, 95% CI = 1.21, 12.44, respectively). African Americans experienced disparities in treatment services utilization and completion on multiple ecological levels. Few differences between Hispanics and Whites were identified throughout all three studies. A comprehensive outlook of future trends in treatment utilization in correctional settings provides needed perspective on the scope and size of the challenge ahead. Better understanding predictors of treatment completion among offenders may inform interventions aimed at reforming the CJS, improving correctional health services, and promoting evidence-based state legislative priorities.

The consequences of imprisonment are felt not only by prisoners themselves but also their family members. Prisoners may be alone in a cell or on trial but most have families and friends that often feel as though they are imprisoned along with their loved ones. There is a limited body of research conducted on partners of incarcerated men and the far-reaching effects of imprisonment on these secondary victims within the Canadian context. However, the research that is available suggests that families face many difficulties when one of its members is incarcerated. This study explores the experiences of female partners of incarcerated men. Crisis Theory directs qualitative data collected from in-depth interviews with ten women. The results indicate that women whose male partners are incarcerated experience many difficulties including stigmatization, financial barriers and emotional stresses. The findings not only highlight the difficulties female partners of male prisoners face but suggest some effective coping mechanisms that the women use to endure such difficulties. This research serves as an exploratory work for larger works that can provide basic policy recommendations. / UOIT

Background: Analyses of the individual-, social- and structural-level factors promoting the transmission of HIV and other blood-borne pathogens have consistently identified exposure to correctional environments, especially for individuals who use injection drugs (IDU), as a risk factor for infection. The objectives of this project were: to review the epidemiologic literature on incarceration and HIV infection among IDU, critically examining evidence presented supporting a causal linkage between imprisonment and infection; to investigate incarceration experiences in a cohort of active IDU; and to assess the possible effects of incarceration on the post-release risk environment of active IDU. Methods: Longitudinal datasets for quantitative analyses were derived from the Vancouver Injection Drug User Study (VIDUS) and the Scientific Evaluation of Supervised Injection (SEOSI), both prospective cohorts of IDU in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighbourhood. In the first analysis, the prevalence and correlates of reporting incarceration in the the previous six months were identified in SEOSI using generalized estimating equations (GEE). In the second analysis, the possible effect of imprisonment on the prevalence of risk factors for HIV infection was estimated in VIDUS using linear growth curve analysis. Results: In the first analysis, 902 individuals interviewed at least once between 1 July 2004 and 30 June 2006 were included. Overall, 423 (46.9%) reported an incarceration event at some point during the study period. In a multivariate GEE model, recent incarceration was independently associated with a number of high-risk factors, including syringe sharing. In the second analysis, 1603 individuals were interviewed at least once between 1 May 1996 and 31 December 2005 and in cluded. Of these, 147 (9.2%) matched the study criteria and were included as cases; 742 (46.3%) were included as matched controls. In linear growth curve analyses adjusted for age, gender and ethnicity, syringe sharing was significantly more common in the incarcerated group (p = 0.03) after incarceration than in the control group. Conclusions: Our findings support the existence of a role for incarceration in continued viral transmission. In response, appropriate harm reduction measures should be expanded within correctional environments and social, political and legal reforms enacted to reduce the incidence of imprisonment for individuals who use illicit drugs.

Background: Analyses of the individual-, social- and structural-level factors promoting the transmission of HIV and other blood-borne pathogens have consistently identified exposure to correctional environments, especially for individuals who use injection drugs (IDU), as a risk factor for infection. The objectives of this project were: to review the epidemiologic literature on incarceration and HIV infection among IDU, critically examining evidence presented supporting a causal linkage between imprisonment and infection; to investigate incarceration experiences in a cohort of active IDU; and to assess the possible effects of incarceration on the post-release risk environment of active IDU. Methods: Longitudinal datasets for quantitative analyses were derived from the Vancouver Injection Drug User Study (VIDUS) and the Scientific Evaluation of Supervised Injection (SEOSI), both prospective cohorts of IDU in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighbourhood. In the first analysis, the prevalence and correlates of reporting incarceration in the the previous six months were identified in SEOSI using generalized estimating equations (GEE). In the second analysis, the possible effect of imprisonment on the prevalence of risk factors for HIV infection was estimated in VIDUS using linear growth curve analysis. Results: In the first analysis, 902 individuals interviewed at least once between 1 July 2004 and 30 June 2006 were included. Overall, 423 (46.9%) reported an incarceration event at some point during the study period. In a multivariate GEE model, recent incarceration was independently associated with a number of high-risk factors, including syringe sharing. In the second analysis, 1603 individuals were interviewed at least once between 1 May 1996 and 31 December 2005 and in cluded. Of these, 147 (9.2%) matched the study criteria and were included as cases; 742 (46.3%) were included as matched controls. In linear growth curve analyses adjusted for age, gender and ethnicity, syringe sharing was significantly more common in the incarcerated group (p = 0.03) after incarceration than in the control group. Conclusions: Our findings support the existence of a role for incarceration in continued viral transmission. In response, appropriate harm reduction measures should be expanded within correctional environments and social, political and legal reforms enacted to reduce the incidence of imprisonment for individuals who use illicit drugs.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University. Missing page 71 in numbering only

abstract: Studies on what shapes public perceptions of ex-prisoners are abundant. One omission is the detailed investigation of how perceptions of former inmates might vary by the amount of time since their last incarceration term. More specifically, it remains unknown whether increased length since an ex-prisoner’s last incarceration spell is positively linked to higher levels of trust. This study (N = 448) uses a factorial vignette design to test the perceived trustworthiness of former inmates across two hypothetical scenarios. Time since last incarceration spell is used as the independent variables in a series of ordered logistic regression models. The role of gender is also explored. Results show that trust perceptions of ex-prisoners minimally vary by time since last incarceration spell when personal victimization is at risk, but the magnitude is small and shows no clear pattern of declining risk over time. Less support is observed in situations where property victimization is at risk. These findings illustrate the complexity of how people perceive and feel about ex-inmates in situations of trust. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Criminology and Criminal Justice 2018