About
Criminal violence is one of the main challenges for Mexico. The toll of victims keeps breaking historical records, threatening political stability and sustainable development.
Violence and fear of violence likely affect economic behaviour, in particular, decisions to spend, save, invest, and migrate. Crime also affects the nature of social spending, as security concerns prevail in public budget plans. In some Mexican regions, a growing illegal economy marginalizes and threatens to replace real sources of growth. In a vicious circle, limited economic opportunities incentive individuals to join criminal groups. This affects human capital investment, income distribution, and seriously hinders the ability of development. Isolated and uncoordinated efforts to understand different aspects of violence are insufficient to understand the economic effects of criminal violence, and to identify areas that may require priority responses, both from the government and from the civil sector.
Although important research addresses the sources of criminal violence, there is less systematic knowledge on this violence’s economic consequences. This projects aims to connect and promote research that helps understanding and addressing the negative economic effects of violence can contribute to break the cycle of violence in regions where the only exits to poverty are joining the illegal economy or emigrating.
Our network of political science, economics, and public policy scholars from leading universities in Mexico, Britain and beyond, helps address in a coordinated manner the economic consequences of violence in Mexico. The ultimate goal is producing research to support policies that promote growth in regions experiencing criminal violence.
Research aims
From an interdisciplinary and multimethod perspective, analyse the direct and indirect economic effects of criminal violence in Mexico, identifying the key issues, trends, and regional dynamics. We are especially interested on the effects of violence on consumption, domestic and foreign investment, challenges to conduct business, internal and international workers’ migrations, and social spending.
Identify areas of opportunities for public and/or private intervention.
Evaluate the effectiveness of different government and non-government interventions in mitigating or exacerbating the economic effects of criminal violence.
Develop a long-term research program focusing on the most significant challenges identified by our researchers.