There is a long and detailed history of attempts to understand what causes crime. One of the most prominent strands of this literature has sought to better understand the relationship between economic conditions and crime. Following Becker (1968), the economic argument is that in an attempt to...

This study explains the emergence of the Sicilian mafia in the XIX century as the product of the interaction between natural resource abundance and weak institutions. We advance the hypothesis that the mafia emerged after the collapse of the Bourbon Kingdom in a context characterized by a severe...

I analyze the demand side impacts of a supply side intervention into the market for illegal drugs in what has been described as America's largest open air drug market. Beginning in 2018, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office and the Philadelphia Police Department engaged in an ambitious...

This article discusses the relationships between immigration, unemployment, and crime. Venezuelan social and economic instability has led to an exodus of Venezuelan citizens to Colombian cities in recent years. Cali, the third most important city in Colombia, is aware of this phenomenon, as it...

Este trabajo analiza las consecuencias del hacinamiento en las cárceles argentinas en el período 2002-2008. Es el primero que aborda el problema en un sistema carcelario latinoamericano; también es el primero en discutir y solucionar problemas de endogenidad en las estimaciones que surgen de...

Based on individual data on the population of those arrested in Medellín, we assess whether the change in punishment at age 18, mandated by law, has a deterrent effect on arrests. No deterrent effect was found on index, violent or property crimes, but a deterrence effect was found on non-index...

ResumenUn modelo bisectorial de equilibrio general, que incluía las drogas como bienes básicos, fue relativamente exitoso para explicar el desperdicio de recursos que genera una guerra contra las drogas (Ortiz, 2003). Debido al supuesto de productividad constante, el modelo predijo que los...

Resumen: Durante los años sesenta la población colombiana creció a tasas históricamente altas, los niños y niñas nacidos durante este periodo se hicieron jóvenes adultos en las décadas de los ochenta y noventa, años en los cuales más homicidios se cometieron en la historia reciente del...

Este documento centra su análisis en el estudio de los determinantes que explican el intercambio directo de drogas ilegales a pequeña escala en la ciudad de Cali, a partir de la estimación de modelos de datos de conteo. Se verifica el cumplimiento de los supuestos teóricos de la elección...

Abstract We document the existence of a Crime Kuznets Curve in US states since the 1970s. As in come level shave risen, crime has followed an inverted U-shaped pattern, first increasing and then dropping. The Crime Kuznets Curve is not explained by income inequality. In fact, we show that during...