Christopher Muller

Exposes how violent offenses have replaced drug offenses as the primary driver of Black prison admissions and Black–White inequality in the prison admission rate. Demonstrates that the prison admission rate of Black Americans has fallen, but the prison admission rate of White Americans with no college education has dramatically increased for all offense categories.

Seeks to give the debate around the relative importance of racial and class inequality in incarceration in the United States a stronger empirical foundation.

Offers a parsimonious framework describing how the Black incarceration rate has been affected by the dynamics of exploitation and exclusion over time and across space.

Estimates the effect of a shock to the southern agricultural labor market during a time when planters exerted a clear influence over whether workers or potential workers were incarcerated. Describes the institutional conditions under which falling labor demand should increase incarceration, clarifies the relationship between incarceration and the economic institutions that replaced slavery, and contributes to a growing literature on incarceration and exploitation in the labor market.

Finds that black men were most likely to be imprisoned in the convict lease system where they overcame whites’ efforts to preserve their position as dependent agricultural laborers.

Demonstrates that trust in the law has declined with the rise in the imprisonment rate and the increasing prevalence of incarceration in African-American communities.

Shows how employment among very low-skilled men and the legitimacy of the courts declined with the increase in the incarceration rate.

Connects the historical increase in racial inequality in incarceration to the Great Migration.

Discusses the challenges of studying how increasing imprisonment has affected families and population health.