We study how two of the world's largest gangs--MS-13 and 18th Street--affect economic development in El Salvador. We exploit the fact that the emergence of these gangs was the consequence of an exogenous shift in American immigration policy that led to the deportation of gang leaders from the...

How do gangs compete for extortion? Using detailed data on individual extortion payments to gangs and sales from a leading wholesale distribution firm in El Salvador, we document new evidence on the determinants of extortion payments and the economic costs of extortion via pass-through. We...