Postdoctoral Researcher · FGV Analytics

Crime, violence &
public policy
in Latin America

I study the causes and consequences of crime and violence using quantitative methods, with a focus on Brazil. My work examines criminal governance, police reform, and how illegal markets shape economic development in peripheral communities.

Pantaleão — the [ã] is nasal and hard for non-latinos. Call me Panta if you prefer.

Research themes

01

Criminal Governance

How organized crime groups create order and economic consequences in communities underserved by the state.

02

Police Reform & Violence

Evaluating data-driven policing, police autonomy, and institutional reform on homicide and public security.

03

Drug Policy & Illegal Markets

Cross-border spillovers of cannabis regulation, drug seizures, and narcotrafficking in South America.

Recent publications

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★ Job Market Paper · American Political Science Review

Peace Dividends: Criminal Governance, Rational Violence, and Economic Development

Shows that a stable, hegemonic drug-trafficking organization generates measurable improvements in local employment and firm creation in peripheral Brazilian neighborhoods by providing predictable governance where the state is absent.

APSR · 2025
Forthcoming · World Development

Improving Police Management Boosts Economic Development: Evidence from Brazil

World Development · 2026
Journal of Development Economics

Police Autonomy, Data-Driven Strategies, and Violence: Evidence from Brazil's Policing Reform

With Kopittke & Parfitt · 2025
Latin American Politics and Society

When Elections Empower Crime: Political Protection and Milícia Expansion in Rio de Janeiro

With Montini · 2025