Drug trafficking, gang members and positive cultural capital in Nicaragua

Abstract

As Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner (2005, p. 103) highlight in their famous book Freakonomics, there are numerous myths and misconceptions about the benefits of drug trafficking. In their jokingly titled chapter 'Why do drug dealers still live with their mothers?', For example, they describe how, contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of those involved in drug trafficking in the United States win ' less than the minimum wage, 'and only gang bosses make significant gains. While this is not necessarily the case worldwide - see Rodgers (2017a) -, there is no doubt that the benefits of drug trafficking are very unevenly distributed, highly contingent and volatile, which can generate very particular political economies.