Justin Schon, PhD
@justin-schon.bsky.social
Expert in migration and its interactions with conflict, climate change, and development.
My book on how civilians select survival strategies, including migration, with a focus on the Syrian civil war, here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/surviving-t
My book on how civilians select survival strategies, including migration, with a focus on the Syrian civil war, here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/surviving-t
Reposted by Justin Schon, PhD
Reposted by Justin Schon, PhD
So I was a federal employee for years and I am going to repeat a fact that people forget every time a politician sings this song. The government is wildly understaffed and you will feel these kinds of cuts immediately because the people eligible for retirement make up the bulk of knowledgeable staff
Trump’s pick to head OMB Russell Vought says he wants government employees “traumatically affected” and “to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains.” Targeting our nation’s public servants is wrong and dangerous.
Opinion | I’m a Federal Employee. This Is What We Need Most in the Trump Era.
Practical support matters more than encouragement.
buff.ly
January 13, 2025 at 12:06 AM
So I was a federal employee for years and I am going to repeat a fact that people forget every time a politician sings this song. The government is wildly understaffed and you will feel these kinds of cuts immediately because the people eligible for retirement make up the bulk of knowledgeable staff
Reposted by Justin Schon, PhD
Tons of critical reporting here. I also think that the effects of the Mexico-Ecuador tensions on Southwest border encounters is a story that needs more reporting, not to mention statistical analysis.
This last year was marked by a lot of changes. I went from being a freelancer to having a staff position. I did some of my favorite reporting from Guatemala as freelance before I left, but sadly the majority of the stories I wanted to tell I couldn't find homes for.
Here are some of my favorites:
Here are some of my favorites:
December 31, 2024 at 2:47 PM
Tons of critical reporting here. I also think that the effects of the Mexico-Ecuador tensions on Southwest border encounters is a story that needs more reporting, not to mention statistical analysis.
Reposted by Justin Schon, PhD
Carter used the power of his post presidency to nearly eradicate guinea worm. There were 3.5 million cases when the Carter Center’s work began in 1986. He said in 2015 that he wanted to see “guinea worm completely eradicated before I die.” There’ve been 7 cases this year. www.npr.org/sections/goa...
Jimmy Carter took on the awful Guinea worm when no one else would — and he triumphed
Carter targeted diseases primarily affecting the poor in remote areas — notably "Guinea worm disease." Because of his commitment, case numbers plummeted from 3.6 million a year to just 13 in 2022.
www.npr.org
December 29, 2024 at 9:34 PM
Carter used the power of his post presidency to nearly eradicate guinea worm. There were 3.5 million cases when the Carter Center’s work began in 1986. He said in 2015 that he wanted to see “guinea worm completely eradicated before I die.” There’ve been 7 cases this year. www.npr.org/sections/goa...
Stories like this make me think: Our groceries should be more expensive, if it means paying fair wages and ensuring reasonable working conditions.
“Every work day, rain or shine, Carrillo and Esau work in the fields for about $80 each per day. Conditions are not for the weak. The hot Florida sun can be brutal and the work is strenuous.“
Reminder that the Florida Legislature banned local heat stress protections for outdoor workers like these.
Reminder that the Florida Legislature banned local heat stress protections for outdoor workers like these.
Farmworkers spend all day in South Florida’s fields. Their humble Christmas wish: beds
They pick the fruits and vegetables that keep Floridians fed. Yet, the family barely has enough money to afford its own meals.
www.miamiherald.com
December 29, 2024 at 4:23 PM
Stories like this make me think: Our groceries should be more expensive, if it means paying fair wages and ensuring reasonable working conditions.
If insurance companies were forced to disclose whether they use companies like this, it would influence my benefit elections during annual enrollment periods.
Our seventh most-read story of this year: When companies like Aetna or UnitedHealthcare want to rein in costs, they turn to EviCore, whose business model depends on turning down payments for care recommended by doctors for their patients.
Read more (published October) ⬇️
Read more (published October) ⬇️
Inside the Company Helping America’s Biggest Health Insurers Deny Coverage for Treatments
When companies like Aetna or UnitedHealthcare want to rein in costs, they turn to EviCore, whose business model depends on turning down payments for care recommended by doctors for their patients.
propub.li
December 29, 2024 at 4:15 PM
If insurance companies were forced to disclose whether they use companies like this, it would influence my benefit elections during annual enrollment periods.
Reposted by Justin Schon, PhD
Using the same data, research teams composed of pro-immigration researchers estimated more positive impacts of immigration on public support for social programs, with estimates at both extremes receiving lower peer evaluations
www.nber.org/papers/w33274
www.nber.org/papers/w33274
Ideological Bias in Estimates of the Impact of Immigration
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
www.nber.org
December 23, 2024 at 6:06 PM
Using the same data, research teams composed of pro-immigration researchers estimated more positive impacts of immigration on public support for social programs, with estimates at both extremes receiving lower peer evaluations
www.nber.org/papers/w33274
www.nber.org/papers/w33274
Reposted by Justin Schon, PhD
Important new book by @alichtenheld.bsky.social draws on field research in Uganda & Syria and an original dataset of 166 civil wars to show how armed groups use strategic displacement of civilians to "sort" rather than eliminate, inferring "guilt by location": www.cambridge.org/core/books/g...
December 20, 2024 at 5:01 PM
Important new book by @alichtenheld.bsky.social draws on field research in Uganda & Syria and an original dataset of 166 civil wars to show how armed groups use strategic displacement of civilians to "sort" rather than eliminate, inferring "guilt by location": www.cambridge.org/core/books/g...
Fascinating study. Two big caveats useful:
1) Data ends in 2016, so it does not address the huge changes since then.
2) Authors state that their data is not representative. Sample has high legal representation and has cases that look likely to have protection needs.
1) Data ends in 2016, so it does not address the huge changes since then.
2) Authors state that their data is not representative. Sample has high legal representation and has cases that look likely to have protection needs.
What if the majority of people denied asylum in the United States are:
a) Telling the truth,
b) In real danger of persecution, and yet
c) Still denied asylum on legal technicalities?
That's the bombshell finding of a landmark new study. bclawreview.bc.edu/articles/317...
a) Telling the truth,
b) In real danger of persecution, and yet
c) Still denied asylum on legal technicalities?
That's the bombshell finding of a landmark new study. bclawreview.bc.edu/articles/317...
December 7, 2024 at 12:05 AM
Fascinating study. Two big caveats useful:
1) Data ends in 2016, so it does not address the huge changes since then.
2) Authors state that their data is not representative. Sample has high legal representation and has cases that look likely to have protection needs.
1) Data ends in 2016, so it does not address the huge changes since then.
2) Authors state that their data is not representative. Sample has high legal representation and has cases that look likely to have protection needs.
Reposted by Justin Schon, PhD
What if the majority of people denied asylum in the United States are:
a) Telling the truth,
b) In real danger of persecution, and yet
c) Still denied asylum on legal technicalities?
That's the bombshell finding of a landmark new study. bclawreview.bc.edu/articles/317...
a) Telling the truth,
b) In real danger of persecution, and yet
c) Still denied asylum on legal technicalities?
That's the bombshell finding of a landmark new study. bclawreview.bc.edu/articles/317...
December 5, 2024 at 3:57 PM
What if the majority of people denied asylum in the United States are:
a) Telling the truth,
b) In real danger of persecution, and yet
c) Still denied asylum on legal technicalities?
That's the bombshell finding of a landmark new study. bclawreview.bc.edu/articles/317...
a) Telling the truth,
b) In real danger of persecution, and yet
c) Still denied asylum on legal technicalities?
That's the bombshell finding of a landmark new study. bclawreview.bc.edu/articles/317...
If I was working with data at the right spatial level to use this, I would totally be diving into it.
Here's one example of how we used geocausal to estimate the effects of different distributions of US airstrikes in Iraq on insurgent attacks (open access):
academic.oup.com/jrsssb/artic...
academic.oup.com/jrsssb/artic...
December 4, 2024 at 1:57 PM
If I was working with data at the right spatial level to use this, I would totally be diving into it.
Very excited to follow this newsletter.
So today I did a thing -- I launched a newsletter on Substack. I've been working on this since the day after the election, when I sat down and thought about what I could best offer in this moment as an immigration reporter. I hope you'll check it out. open.substack.com/pub/beyondth...
Welcome to Beyond the Border
Why I'm starting a newsletter and why I hope you'll read it
open.substack.com
December 4, 2024 at 12:15 AM
Very excited to follow this newsletter.
Back from a vacation, so now I will belatedly share this podcast episode that I participated in with @mararevkin.bsky.social , @weigand.bsky.social , and @katharinefortin.bsky.social on civilian agency and decision-making during armed conflict. Thanks for including me!
Thanks @katharinefortin.bsky.social @weigand.bsky.social & @justin-schon.bsky.social for including me in this discussion of civilian agency, decision-making, and displacement dynamics during armed conflict for the Beyond Compliance Consortium: beyond-compliance-consortium.org/s1-ep5-decis...
November 18, 2024 at 5:03 AM
Back from a vacation, so now I will belatedly share this podcast episode that I participated in with @mararevkin.bsky.social , @weigand.bsky.social , and @katharinefortin.bsky.social on civilian agency and decision-making during armed conflict. Thanks for including me!