Living on the edgeyouth entry, career and exit in drug-selling gangs

Resumo

We use data from a unique survey of members of drug-trafficking gangs in favelas (slums) of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to characterize drug-trafficking jobs and study the selection into gangs, analyzing what distinguishes gang-members from other youth living in favelas. We also estimate earnings regressions for gang-members and examine their career path: age at entry, progression within the gangs' hierarchy, and short- to medium-term outcomes. Individuals from lower socioeconomic background and with no religious affiliation have higher probability of joining a gang, while those with problems at school and early use of drugs join the gang at younger ages. Earnings within the gang do not depend on education, but are increasing with experience and involvement in gang-related violence. The two-year mortality rate in the sample of gang-members reaches 20%, with the probability of death increasing with initial involvement in gang violence and with personality traits associated with unruliness. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ficha do documento

Tipo

Artigo científico

Ano

2016

Instituição

Elsevier Science Bv

Fonte

Repositório da FGV

Idioma

Inglês

Acesso

Acesso restrito

DOI

10.1016/j.jebo.2015.10.018

Identificador

oai:repositorio.fgv.br:10438/23551

Temas

Economia

Palavras-chave

CrimeYouthGangsDrug-TraffickingCriminal careerBrazilEconomiaTráfico de drogas - Rio de Janeiro (RJ)Drogas e juventude - Rio de Janeiro (RJ)Gangues