Christopher Blattman

The Terrible Trade-Off: Why Governments Must Choose Between More Violence or Stronger Gangs

Christopher Blattman, Benjamin Lessing and Santiago Tobón Nearly every neighborhood in Medellín, Colombia, has a combo, or local street gang—almost four hundred in all. They earn most of their money from local drug sales. Some also run protection rackets, while others market legal goods—arepas, eggs, and even cooking