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Although much literature has examined macrolevel employment contexts and crime rates and, at the individual level, employment and offending, few studies have examined systematically whether macrolevel employment contexts influence individual‐level offending. At the same time, emerging literature on prisoner reentry increasingly underscores the potential importance of the social environment for impeding or facilitating successful transitions back into society. All three avenues of inquiry have emphasized the salience of race‐specific and offense‐specific effects. This study extends prior work on ecology and offending, employment and crime, and prisoner reentry by examining the race‐specific effects of unemployment rates and manufacturing employment rates on violent, property, and drug recidivism. By analyzing data on male ex‐prisoners released to 67 counties in Florida, we found, as hypothesized, that Black ex‐prisoners released to areas with higher Black male unemployment rates have a greater likelihood of violent recidivism. No comparable effect was identified for White exprisoners. However, we found that White ex‐prisoners, especially those without prior violent convictions, have a lower likelihood of violent recidivism when released to areas with higher White male manufacturing employment rates. We discuss the findings and their implications for theory, research, and policy.

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) was banned or restricted in many countries worldwide because of its adverse effects on the ecological environment and humans. However, the endocrine disrupting effects caused by low environmental PCP exposure levels has warranted more analysis. We reviewed 80 studies conducted in 21 countries and published between 1967 and 2010, using meta-regression analysis to examine the time trends and regional differences in PCP levels. The results suggested that in indoor air, bodies of water, freshwater sediments in western countries, invertebrates and freshwater vertebrates, PCP levels had declined over time, with half-lives ranging from 2.0 years to 11.1 years. However, in marine sediments/vertebrates and Chinese surface water/sediments, PCP levels increased over time. PCP levels in human blood and urine had decreased since the 1970s, with population half-lives of 3.6 years and 5.7 years, respectively. The intervals for global population blood and urine reference values decreased to 1.1-6.3 μg/L (2002-2008) and 2.5-7 μg/L (1995-2003), respectively. The possible thyroid disrupting effects and other health risks correlated with low environmental PCP exposure should be concerning. This study can help to ascertain the effects of the banning/restriction policy, providing data for cost-benefit analysis in policy-making and further control of health risks caused by low environmental exposure to PCP.

Objective To quantify health care utilization and costs by disease severity for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the United States Methods We conducted descriptive analyses of Humedica electronic health record (EHR) data from 2011 to 2015 (utilization analysis) and integrated Optum administrative claims/Humedica EHR data from 2012 to 2015 (cost analysis) for patients with SLE. All-cause utilization outcomes examined were hospitalizations, outpatient visits, emergency department (ED) visits, and prescription drug use. Analyses of costs stratified by disease severity were limited to patients enrolled in an Optum-participating health insurance plan for ≥1 year after the earliest observed SLE diagnosis date. Costs were converted to 2016 US dollars. Results Health care utilization was evaluated in 17,257 patients with SLE. Averaged over the study period from 2011 to 2015, 13.7% of patients had ≥1 hospitalization per year, 25.7% had ≥1 ED visit, and 94.4% had ≥1 outpatient visit. Utilization patterns were generally similar across each year studied. Annually, 88.0% of patients had ≥1 prescription, including 1.3% who used biologics. Biologic treatment doubled between 2011 (0.7%) and 2015 (1.4%). Cost analyses included 397 patients. During 2012 to 2015, patients with severe SLE had mean annual costs of $52,951, compared with $28,936 and $21,052 for patients with moderate and mild SLE, respectively. Patients with severe SLE had increased costs in all service categories: inpatient, ED, clinic/office visits, and pharmacy. Conclusion US patients with SLE, especially individuals with moderate or severe disease, utilize significant health care resources and incur high medical costs.