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Poverty is unevenly distributed within the United States – – a fact demonstrated by a rich literature on inequality in the US. By ignoring such variation, research runs the risk of overlooking the geographical distribution of poverty and risks that increase the likelihood of poverty. In this article, I address this by: (1) building on the prevalence and penalties framework, developed in cross-national scholarship, and applying it to the U.S. case given state autonomy in poverty policy; and (2) conducting longitudinal analyses using high-quality data derived from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS-ASEC). Through these analyses, I examine the extent of interstate variation in poverty and in the prevalence of risks and the penalties associated with those risks. Results confirm interstate variation in poverty similar to that seen across rich democracies – the focus of much cross-national comparative work – and demonstrate sizable differences in risks and their associated penalties that have grown rapidly since the welfare reforms of the 1990s. These findings have substantial implications for scholars and policymakers interested in understanding poverty and vulnerability in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior studies show affluence and trust increases economic support for environmental protections. However, despite widespread economic prosperity over the last two decades, variation in support for environmental protections persists across countries. We contend this variation is attributable to the growth of national income inequality which "traps" societies in environmental indifference by mitigating the effects of affluence and trust on the willingness-to-pay for environmental protections. Drawing on data from 45,000 adult respondents in 51 countries from multiple waves of the World Value Survey, we find economic development, socioeconomic status, and trust are important determinants of a respondent's willingness-to-pay for environmental protections. More importantly, we find disposable income inequality suppresses the effects of these determinants on willingness-to-pay. Overall, the study illustrates how economic inequality contextualizes the effects of affluence and trust on environmental support which creates a barrier to widespread environmental support across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 data, a comprehensive treatment model indicates a strong positive influence of incarceration on premature death risk. Models adjust for numerous covariates of mortality, including demographics, family background, and a range of health and behavioral indicators measured during childhood, as well as selection into incarceration ("treatment"). This study expands extant research by observing much longer panel data, closer to the mortality curve. The main treatment effect reveals risk of premature death by one's mid-fifties being increased by 13.9 percentage-points. Results also indicate that young adulthood incarceration shortens lives equally for Blacks and non-Blacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research on legal repression shows how elites use criminal law to demobilize collective challenges, yet social control efforts based in civil law have received inadequate attention. In this study, we develop the concept of elite legal framing to examine how corporations deploy "soft" forms of repression within the civil justice system. Drawing on court, government, and media documents, we analyze a series of transnational civil litigation cases over pesticide exposure on Dole-contracted banana plantations in Nicaragua. Results highlight how the corporate defendants promoted a corruption narrative that diffused through the media and legal system to successfully discredit farmworker claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]