Prisoners at FPC Morgantown use spoiled canned mackerel pouches (Macks) as a non-edible currency sustaining a shadow economy due to availability and perishability.
Tailors and corner stores: The hustles helping prisoners survive
Prisoners at New Jersey State Prison survive through a second economy while earning pennies from prison labor and facing exorbitant commissary markups.
The prison economy: Behind bars, everyone's making money DW 09/11/2025
Governments and private actors profit from mass incarceration while inmates face overcrowding, low wages, and expensive essentials, creating a lucrative prison economy.