Ideas to Action:

Independent research for global prosperity

Beyond the Fence Study Group

The Beyond the Fence Study Group generates rigorous new research to explore how policy decisions on one side of the US-Mexico border ripple to the other side through illicit markets and to inform a policy debate on more bilateral approaches to innovative regulation. The dual meaning of the name represents a desire for researchers to investigate the effects of policy that cross the fence, and for policymakers to reach beyond unilateral enforcement approaches. 

Beyond the Fence Study GroupThe 2,000 mile border between the United States and Mexico is an economic cliff, the largest GDP per capita differential found at any land border on earth. Across this fault line, the two nations continue a deep and centuries-old exchange of goods, services, investment, labor, culture, and ideas.

Some of those interactions happen through flourishing, transborder illicit markets—such as for drugs, arms, and labor—with major economic and social effects for both sides. The political economy of these markets is complex and poorly understood. It is shaped by a policy approach that is today dominated by unilateral, domestic law enforcement.

In March 2013, CGD convened the first meeting of the group in Washington, and future meetings are planned in both Mexico City and Washington. The initial meeting brought together leading economists from the United States and Latin America whose research uses frontier techniques to learn about the policy dilemmas that arise from transborder illicit markets. Since the first meeting, four papers have been completed as part of the initiative. Additional works in earlier stages of development.

The agenda is built around three areas:

  1. What are the impacts of current policies—including interdiction and other enforcement operations, violence prevention efforts, and drug decriminalization? 
  2. What are the determinants of participation in illicit markets, and of subsequent violence and instability? What are the effects of violence on the economy?
  3. What new policies should the US, Mexico, and Central America explore to address these challenges?

Contact

Cynthia Rathinasamy crathinasamy@cgdev.org

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In the News

Recent Research

Recent Work

December 11, 2015
Blog Post
Violence and Paranoia in the US–Mexico Borderlands
Omar García-Ponce and Hannah Postel

It is a major concern often heard from US border residents: how much might increasing drug cartel violence in Mexico “spill over” into the United States? It’s certainly true that illicit markets—in drugs, guns and people—have long flourished across the 2,000 mile frontier, and pose policy concerns for both countries. To date, the major strategy to tackle this problem has been a law enforcement approach sponsored by the United States. Is this the right approach?

June 1, 2015
Publication
The Health Consequences of Aerial Spraying of Illicit...
Adriana Camacho and Daniel Mejia

A joint US-Colombia antinarcotics program sprayed hundreds of thousands of acres of illicit crops in Colombia with the herbicide glyphosate over several years. The recent classification of glyphosate as a likely carcinogen raises questions about the health effects of that spraying campaign. In this study, two economists from Colombia’s Los Andes University, combine data on aerial spraying from 2003 to 2007 with comprehensive individual-level data on every visit to public health facilities during that period. They find that aerial spraying raised the incidence of miscarriages, skin conditions, and respiratory problems.

March 17, 2015
Blog Post
The US-Mexico Wage Gap Has Grown, Not Shrunk, under NAFTA...
Michael Clemens

The United States has an interest in a prosperous, secure Mexico—the second largest customer for American exporters. Is that interest adequately served by US policy?

March 11, 2015
Publication
Trade, Migration, and the Place Premium: Mexico and the...
Davide Gandolfi, Timothy Halliday and Raymond Robertson

Large wage differences between countries (“place premiums”) are well documented. Theory suggests that factor price convergence should follow increased migration, capital flows, and commercial integration.

January 6, 2015
Blog Post
Migration and Development: Small Tweaks for Big Benefits
Owen Barder and Theodore Talbot

Britain’s highly charged debate about immigration means that migration systems and policies are potentially in

October 10, 2014
Multimedia
Video | Guns, Drugs, and Military Aid: Exploring...
September 26, 2014
Event
Guns, Drugs, and Military Aid: Exploring Unintended...
Michael Clemens and Peter Reuter

The last ten years have seen escalating violence south of the US border. The violence manifests in different forms and intensity levels, and affects Mexico, Central America, and several countries in South America. Politicians and pundits debate the appropriate role for US policy in combating this trend, but data-driven research is scarce and many questions remain. What do leading academic researchers find about the effects of US policy on violence in Latin America and the indirect effects of US efforts to combat arms and drug trafficking on public health, migration, public security, and development? What do researchers know that policymakers should know, and what priorities should drive future research aimed at informing policy decisions?

To address these questions, the Center for Global Development has created the Beyond the Fence Study Group . Beyond the Fence includes many of the preeminent scholars investigating the relationship between drugs, crime, violence, trade, and migration. The panelists will discuss ongoing, leading-edge research on the ripple effects of US policy in Latin America, key findings from this work, and point to areas where future research is needed. After a brief, moderated discussion, the panelists will field questions from the audience. Registration begins at 12:00 p.m. and a light lunch will be provided.

July 29, 2014
Event
The Health Consequences of Aerial Spraying of Illicit...
Adriana Camacho Gonzalez

What are the unintended health consequences of the drug war? Adriana Camacho will present a recent paper exploiting the variation in aerial spraying on illicit crops across time and space in Colombia. The paper employs a panel of individual health records in order to study the causal effects of aerial spraying of herbicides (Glyphosate) on health-related outcomes.

Camacho and coauthor Daniel Mejia Londono find that an increase in the amount of aerial spraying in a municipality increases the number of medical consultations related to the exposure of Glyphosate for the municipality’s inhabitants. Moreover, while there is no evidence of effects on respiratory diseases, the paper finds strong negative effects on dermatological problems and miscarriages.

July 16, 2014
Blog Post
Ripple Effects of the Drug War: New Research on the...
Michael Clemens

Deadly violence in US neighbors has once again grabbed Americans’ attention. An unprecedented wave of Central American children has been arriving at the Southwest US border this year, often fleeing gang violence linked to the narcotics trade. Many of them come from Honduras, an epicenter of the Drug War with the world’s highest homicide rate.

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