Economy

From arrest to incarceration and reentry, people who come into contact with the justice system are confronted with numerous financial challenges, including financial products and services that too often contain exploitative terms and features, offer little or no consumer choice, and can have long-term negative consequences for the individuals and families affected. This report outlines some of the challenges faced by justice-involved people and their families in navigating their finances at each stage of the criminal justice system.

Congress tasked BJS and the U.S. Census Bureau with reporting on post-prison employment of persons released from federal prison. The study population in this report includes 51,500 persons released from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) whose release records could be linked by the U.S. Census Bureau to employment and wage files from the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) program.

Employment of Persons Released from Federal Prison in 2010

Author(s): U.S. Department of Justice

Publication Date: 12/1/2021

https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/eprfp10.pdf

The global economic recovery is continuing, even as the pandemic resurges. The fault lines opened up by COVID-19 are looking more persistent—near-term divergences are expected to leave lasting imprints on medium-term performance. Vaccine access and early policy support are the principal drivers of the gaps.

Recovery during a Pandemic—Health Concerns, Supply Disruptions, Price Pressures

Author(s): International Monetary Fund

Publisher: World Economic Outlook

Publication Date: 10/1/2021

In this Fifth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission seeks to obtain detailed comment to enable it to make further progress toward ensuring that the rates, charges, and practices for and in connection with interstate and international inmate calling services meet applicable statutory standards.

Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services

Publisher: Federal Communications Commission

Volume, Issue, & Page: Vol. 86, No. 142

Publication Date: 7/28/2021

Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services

Financial stability risks have been contained so far, reflecting ongoing policy support and a rebound in the global economy earlier this year. However, the optimism that propelled markets earlier in the year has faded on growing concerns about the strength of the global recovery, and ongoing supply chain disruptions intensified inflation concerns. Signs of stretched asset valuations in some market segments persist, and pockets of vulnerabilities remain in the nonbank financial sector; recovery is uneven in the corporate sector.

Global Financial Stability Report, Covid-19, Crypto, and Climate

Author(s): International Monetary Fund

Publisher: Global Financial Stability Report

This quarterly briefing builds on the latest policy research as well as consultations and surveys with leading chief economists from both the public and private sectors, organized by the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the New Economy and Society. It aims to summarize the emerging contours of the current economic environment and identify priorities for further action by policy-makers and business leaders in response to the global economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Global Economic Prospects, January 2021

Author(s): World Bank Group

Publication Date: 1/1/2021

This white paper series, composed of eight parts, explores numerous critical topics related to CBDC and stablecoins, including an evaluation of their value proposition for the under-served, identification of key policy and regulatory actions, and discussion of salient technology considerations and trade-offs.

It aims to inform policy-makers, digital currency issuers, financial and civil society organizations, and other stakeholders as to the capabilities, risks, policy imperatives and key technology choices with respect to rapidly evolving stablecoins and CBDC.

Digital Currency Governance Consortium White Paper Series

Publisher: World Economic Forum

Publication Date: 11/1/2021

Every state experienced an uptick in total personal income last year as historic gains in unemployment benefits, federal aid, and other public assistance drove the sharpest annual growth in two decades. Without government support, most states would have sustained declines in personal income—a key economic indicator—as the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on business activity.

Chances are that you believe you are in the middle class—nearly everyone in the United States does. Doctors and lawyers believe they are middle-class; so, too, do welders and waiters. In a 2015 Pew survey, only 10 percent of Americans said they considered themselves lower-class and just 1 percent thought they were upper-class.

Earnings have been flat or stagnant for many middle-class workers in the United States while health care, education, and housing costs are rising. Surveys show that Americans accurately perceive these pressures too and share a broad belief that the middle class is struggling. Seven in ten respondents to a Northwestern Mutual survey said that the middle class was staying the same or shrinking. One-third said the middle class might disappear entirely.

Having a global pandemic steamroll its way through a state’s economy is no one’s good idea of enacting budgetary restraints. But facing reality is not optional. Texas has faced budget tightening in its corrections system before. So, legislators must address this situation in a similar fashion— by once again prioritizing finite resources while, this time, seeking to get a handle on a costly, aging prison population and reducing technical violations that undermine the entire purpose of community supervision in the first place.