Book Project

Crackdowns, Organized Crime Expansion, and Government Capture

My book-style dissertation investigates how the Mexican government’s crackdown of 2007 created incentives for organized crime to diversify their activities and expand their presence to territories where they had previously not operated. It then traces how criminal organizations have attempted, often successfully, to influence public policy by capturing local governments institutions, including public security agencies and local councils, in these new territories. To examine these questions my research relies on multi-method research, including quasi-experiments and qualitative methods.

Working Papers

"Drug Wars, Organized Crime Expansion, and State Capture: Evidence from Mexico" (job market paper)


"Women Politicians Reduce Violence Against Women: Evidence from Mexico" (with Rachel Skillman and Angie Torres-Beltran) Under review


"Supplemental Online Resources Improve Education in Political Methods" (with Leonardo Falabella, Alexandra Lange, Nicholas Smith, and Maureen Feeley) Under review.

  

Original Data/Non-Peer Review

Signoret, Patrick; Marco Alcocer; Cecilia Farfan-Mendez; Fernanda Sobrino, 2021, “Mapping Criminal Organizations in Mexico: State Panel 2007-2015”, https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/N0KGCZ, Harvard Dataverse, V1.

Work in Progress

"Organized Crime Dynamics and Violence Against State Officials in Mexico" (with Megan Erickson)


"Organized Crime and Violence Against Migrants in Mexico"


"Killing the Law: Understanding Why Organized Crime Assassinates Police Officers."

In Preparation

"Unified Police Commands and Public Security: Evidence from a Police Reform in Mexico"

"Cutting Hydra's Head: Crackdowns, Illicit Market Structure, and Cartel Fragmentation"

Measuring Police Department Managerial Quality and its Consequences (with Rodrigo Canales and Alina Bitran)

Understanding Community Policing in Mexico (with Rodrigo Canales and Alina Bitran)