“Narconomics” by Tom Wainwright

Wainwright is a reporter for the Economist magazine who tries to look at the illegal drug trade as any other business. He goes through different illegal drug markets applying the same logic as an economics or business school professor. He explains that tattoos are required in many gangs because it essentially keeps the foot soldiers from bolting to rivals if the pay or lifestyle is better. He claims increasing the border crossings between America and Mexico would decrease violence as the incentives to control the chokeholds of drug crossings decrease. He describes Mexican cartels offshoring to Guatemala and Honduras as the minimum wage and standard of living in Mexico has increased after NAFTA. He details how the Zetas were able to expand throughout Central America so quickly after breaking from the Gulf Cartel by setting up franchises. By pairing up with existing small time thugs in various Latin American cities they had built-in local information and networks. The Zetas provided the paramilitary training, and often the drugs and the guns, and they would take a small cut of each local operation. This was a light book about a heavy subject, which teaches that the iron laws of economics apply in black markets as they do in legal ones.