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Writing and media

Policy notes and reports, columns and blog posts, press coverage of my research, and podcast, radio, and video appearances. Journal articles and working papers are listed under Research.

Policy writing and reports

Beneficios jurídicos en juego: la Paz Total y el voto en territorios de grupos armados (with Michael Weintraub). Valor Público, Universidad EAFIT, Policy Note 11 (2026).
Beyond the Mine: Sizing Colombia's Illegal Gold Economy Valor Público, Universidad EAFIT, Policy Note 10 (2026).
The Producer's Cut: Sizing Colombia's Cocaine Economy (with Daniel Mejía). Valor Público, Universidad EAFIT, Policy Note 9 (2026).
Education and Youth Pathways Under Organized Crime (with Martín Vanegas-Arias). Organized Against Crime, Policy Document 9 (2026).
Construcción de Estado en la ciudad: lecciones de un experimento en alternativas civiles a la policía en Medellín (with Christopher Blattman, Gustavo Duncan and Benjamin Lessing). Valor Público, Universidad EAFIT, Policy Note 8 (2026).
From Schools of Crime to Criminal Hubs? Prisons and Organized Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean (with Ernesto Schargrodsky). Organized Against Crime, Policy Document 3 (2026).
Improving Officials' Use of Evidence in the Design and Implementation of Public Policy (with Manuela Hoyos, Santiago Pérez-Vincent, Pedro C. L. Souza and Martín Vanegas-Arias). IDB Working Paper (2026).
¿Qué funciona para reducir la impunidad y la reincidencia por violencia de género? Evidencia de dos evaluaciones de impacto en Colombia (with Verónica Abril, Brayan Pineda and María José Sotomayor). IDB Working Paper (2025).
The Political Will to Measure Organised Crime: Why We Need It and How to Build It (with Christopher Blattman and Benjamin Lessing). SOC ACE Briefing Note 34 (2025).
How to Map and Combat Urban Organised Crime: Lessons from the Medellín Impact Lab (with Christopher Blattman and Benjamin Lessing). SOC ACE Briefing Note 33 (2025).
Gobierno de pandillas: entendiendo y contrarrestando la gobernanza criminal (with Christopher Blattman, Gustavo Duncan and Benjamin Lessing). Valor Público, Universidad EAFIT (2024).
Building Trust in State Actors: A Multi-Site Experiment with the Colombian National Police (with Verónica Abril, Ervyn Norza, Santiago Pérez-Vincent and Michael Weintraub). IDB Technical Note IDB-TN-2790 (2023).
The Terrible Trade-Off: Why Governments Must Choose between More Violence or Stronger Gangs (with Christopher Blattman and Benjamin Lessing). Modern War Institute at West Point (2022).
The Terrible Trade-Off: How the Hidden Cost of Organised Crime Harms Cities, and What Can Be Done about It (with Christopher Blattman and Benjamin Lessing). SOC ACE Briefing Note 4 (2022).
Measuring Organised Crime: Challenges and Solutions for Collecting Data on Armed Illicit Groups (with Christopher Blattman, Benjamin Lessing and Juan Pablo Mesa-Mejía). SOC ACE Briefing Note 3 (2022).
The Evolution of Citizen Security in Colombia in Times of COVID-19 (with Nathalie Alvarado, Ervyn Norza, Santiago Pérez-Vincent and Martín Vanegas-Arias). IDB Technical Note IDB-TN-2034 (2020).
Crime in the Time of COVID-19 (with Christopher Blattman, David Cerero, Gustavo Duncan et al.). EDI Report, COVID-19 Essay Series (2020).
Gobierno criminal en Medellín: panorama general del fenómeno y evidencia empírica sobre cómo enfrentarlo (with Christopher Blattman, Gustavo Duncan, Benjamin Lessing and Juan Pablo Mesa-Mejía). Documentos de Trabajo de Valor Público, Universidad EAFIT (2020).
What Works to Prevent Violence among Youth? A White Paper on Youth Violence, Crime Prevention and the Mexican Context (with Thomas Abt, Christopher Blattman and Beatriz Magaloni). USAID Report (2018). Informe (ES) · Policy brief
Sector Wide Impact Assessment on Human Rights: Mining Unseen (with Luis Fernando De Angulo, Camila Miranda et al.). Institute for Human Rights and Business Report (2016).

Columns and blog posts

Press coverage

Podcasts

Radio, TV, and interviews

Video