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About

What I study

I study how organized crime operates and what governments can do about it. My research agenda spans four areas: how criminal organizations govern communities and sustain themselves, how policing and civilian alternatives to enforcement affect public safety, how prison conditions shape recidivism, and how policy interventions in illicit markets produce intended and unintended consequences.

Most of my empirical work takes place in Colombian cities—particularly Medellín and Bogotá—where I run field experiments, collect original survey data, and work directly with municipal governments and police forces. My research has been published in the Review of Economic Studies, the American Political Science Review, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of the European Economic Association, and the Journal of Development Economics.

Positions

I am a Professor of Economics at Universidad EAFIT in Medellín, Colombia, and Director of the Centro de Valor Público, EAFIT's policy research center.

I hold the following affiliations:

  • AL CAPONE (América Latina Crime and Policy Network), Chair
  • UNU-WIDER, Non-Resident Senior Research Fellow
  • J-PAL, Affiliate, Crime and Violence Initiative
  • IPA, Researcher
  • EGAP, Academic Member and Board Member

I've held visiting positions at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, the Inter-American Development Bank, and UNU-WIDER. Prior to joining EAFIT, I was a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and Innovations for Poverty Action.

Awards

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. The prize is awarded every two years and hosted by Fedesarrollo, Colombia's leading independent economic research center. My acceptance speech, "Reflexiones sobre crimen y violencia," is available as a PDF and on video.

In 2024, I received the Medellín Investiga Prize, awarded every year to the best research project on Medellín's most important development challenges.

Education

  • Ph.D. in Economics, Universidad de los Andes (2018)
  • M.A. in Economics, Universidad de los Andes (2017)
  • M.A. in Economics, Université catholique de Louvain (2012)
  • M.A. in Business, Universidad EAFIT (2011)
  • B.A. in Computer Science, Universidad EIA (2007)

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