How Do We Measure Illicit Economies? | Crime Beat Conversations featuring Henry Ziemer

How do we measure the size of illicit economies, and what can seizure data actually tell us about the effectiveness of enforcement policies? In this episode of Crime Beat Conversations, Rafaella Lispschitz speaks with Henry Ziemer, Fellow with the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), about the challenges of measuring illicit markets and evaluating interdiction efforts. The conversation examines: - The methodologies used to estimate the size of illicit economies - What seizure data can (and cannot) reveal about market activity - The limitations of using interdiction figures as a measure of policy success - What more effective metrics could look like for policymakers and researchers Watch the full conversation for a closer look at how evidence, data, and methodology shape our understanding of illicit markets and policy responses. Read Henry’s piece on illicit economy data here: https://www.caballeros.blog/p/the-missing-data-on-illicit-economies  Find Henry’s blog, Caballeros, here: https://www.caballeros.blog/  For more from Henry, follow on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/henry-suckow-ziemer-6a5007158/) and X (https://x.com/HenryZiemer)  A New Lines Institute Mafiacracies Project production: https://newlinesinstitute.org/initiative/mafiacracies-project/ For more from Rafaella, follow on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/rlipschitz) and X (https://x.com/rlipschitz01) Explore similar analysis and forecasting from New Lines institute: https://newlinesinstitute.org/ Follow our socials for news on upcoming events, analysis, infographics, and more! https://linktr.ee/NewLinesInstitute