Santiago Tobón
I study how organized crime operates—how criminal organizations govern communities, extract resources, and sustain themselves—and what governments can do about it. My research covers policing, prisons, civilian alternatives to enforcement, and the regulation of illicit markets. Most of my fieldwork takes place in Colombian cities, where I run experiments and collect original data on criminal governance, public trust in state institutions, and the effects of policy interventions at scale.
I am a Professor of Economics at Universidad EAFIT in Medellín and Director of the Centro de Valor Público, which connects applied research to institutional decision-making across Colombia. I chair AL CAPONE, the América Latina Crime and Policy Network, and hold affiliations with J-PAL, IPA, UNU-WIDER, and EGAP, where I serve on the Board.
In 2020, the Juan Luis Londoño committee awarded me the Juan Luis Londoño Medal, which recognizes Colombians aged 40 or under whose research has shaped public policy.
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Research
Publications in criminal governance, policing, prisons, and illicit markets. Working papers on trust in state actors, gang recruitment, and the organization of organized crime.
Centro de Valor Público
Applied research, program evaluation, and policy design for governments and organizations. Projects range from experimental evaluations of youth interventions to institutional strengthening across 49 municipalities.
COCAÍNA: Anatomía de un mercado prohibido
An evidence-based account of the cocaine industry—from coca cultivation through production, trafficking, and retail distribution to the policy responses that shape each stage. The manuscript is finished and with the publisher.
Policy writing
Policy notes and reports for governments and development agencies, from the size of Colombia's cocaine and gold economies to lessons from field experiments with the police and city governments.
Latest
"State-Building in the City: An Experiment in Civilian Alternatives to Policing", American Political Science Review (2026) Journal article
"Organized Crime and Violence", forthcoming at Annual Review of Economics Journal article
"The Producer's Cut: Sizing Colombia's Cocaine Economy", Valor Público, Universidad EAFIT, Policy Note 9 Policy note, 2026