Illegal Drugs, Economy, and Society in the Andes

by Thoumi, Francisco E.

• ISBN13: 9780801878541
• ISBN10: 0801878543
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-12-11
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr

Summary

Some countries develop illegal drugs industries, and others do not. Discerning the distinguishing characteristics -- social, economic, and political -- of countries with these industries forms the subject of this sophisticated and humane study. The author, Francisco E. Thoumi, though trained as an economist, rejects simplistic economic solutions as well as simplistic moral ones as he addresses the Andean countries of Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia and the attitudes and responses of the United States. He investigates how the United States and the Andean countries perceive drugs issues; the history, structure, and evolution of drug industries in the Andes; the size of the industries in Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia; and their economic, political, and social effects in each country. Thoumi also addresses the political systems and social characteristics of these countries and why they have been so vulnerable to influence from these industries. And he offers case studies of a variety of anti-drug efforts including crop substitution and alternative development, eradication, interdiction of illicit traffic and manufacturing facilities, and extradition to the United States of traffickers.

Author Biography

Francisco E. Thoumi received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Minnesota. He has been a professor at the Universidad de Los Andes, in Bogot+í, California State University, and the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and has worked for the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the United Nations Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention. He is a member of the Colombian Academy of Economic Sciences.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	xiii
Preface	xv
Introduction and Overview	1	(14)
Part I. The Illegal Drug Industry's History and Structure
Psychoactive Drug Perceptions and Attitudes in the United States and the Andean Countries	15	(33)
The Socioeconomic Dimensions of Illegal Drug Production	48	(31)
The Development and Structure of the Illegal Drug Industry in the Andes	79	(62)
Part II. The Effects of the Andean Illegal Drug Industry
The Size of the Illegal Drug Industry	141	(18)
Economic, Environmental, Social, and Political Effects of the Illegal Drug Industry	159	(22)
The Illegal Drug Industry's Effects in Colombia	181	(51)
The Illegal Drug Industry's Effects in Bolivia and Peru	232	(33)
Part III. Country Vulnerability to Illegal Drugs
Illegal Drugs, Violence, and Social Differences	265	(36)
Part IV. Antidrug Policies
The Nature of the Drug Policy Problem	301	(14)
Policy Case Studies of Alternative Development in Bolivia and International Cooperation in Colombia	315	(37)
A Short Survey of Antidrug Policies in the Andes and Policy Conclusions	352	(21)
References	373	(26)
Index	399