Gangs, labor mobility, and development

Melnikov, Nikita; Schmidt-Padilla, Carlos; Sviatschi, Maria Micaela

http://hdl.handle.net/10362/180504

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Autores

Melnikov, Nikita

Schmidt-Padilla, Carlos

Sviatschi, Maria Micaela

Resumo(s)

We study how criminal organizations affect economic development. We exploit a natural experiment in El Salvador, where these criminal organizations emerged due to an exogenous shift in American immigration policy that led to the deportation of gang leaders from the United States to El Salvador. Using a spatial regression discontinuity design that focuses on the gang-created system of borders, we find that individuals in gang-controlled neighborhoods have less material well-being, income, and education than individuals living only 50 meters away but outside of gang territory. None of these discontinuities existed before the arrival of the gangs. A key mechanism behind the results is that gangs restrict individuals’ mobility, affecting their labor-market options by preventing them from commuting to other parts of the city. The results are not determined by high rates of selective migration, differential exposure to extortion and violence, or differences in public goods provision.

Palavras-chave

Gangs Development Mobility Crime

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10362/180504

Citação

Melnikov, Nikita, Schmidt-Padilla, Carlos, Sviatschi, María Micaela. Gangs, labor mobility, and development. (March 2025) Nova SBE Working Paper Series No. 672

Editora

Nova School of Business and Economics

Coleções

NSBE - Working Paper Series

Licença CC

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