Street gangs have a long history in American cities (Thrasher 1927). Until recently, gangs were organized primarily as social peer groups. Any economic activities were of secondary importance (Suttles 1968, Klein 1995). The last two decades, however, have given rise to a dramatic transformation in street gangs, or what Taylor (1990) terms their "corporatization." When crack became widely available in the mid-1980s, sold in small quantities in fragmented street-corner markets, street gangs became the logical distributors. The potential profit in drug dealing dwarfed that previously available to gangs through other criminal channels. As a consequence, the economic activity of drug distribution quickly emerged as the focus around which many gangs are organized. In concert with declining legitimate labor market opportunities and increasing concentrations of poverty in inner cities (Wilson 1987), the new economic underpinning of street gangs has led to a dramatic increase in gang involvement. Landre. Miller, and Porter (1997) estimate that the number of individuals associated with street gangs in California alone is projected to reach 250,000 by the year 2000, although this number includes not only hardcore gang members involved directly in drug distribution, but also those on the periphery. The timing of the rise in gang activity corresponds to a period of rising inner-city youth violence. Between 1985 and 1995, the homicide arrest rate among those aged 13 to 17 doubled (Blumstein 1995, Cook and Laub 1997). Increases among African-American youths were particularly great, more than tripling (to a level five times higher than whites). In stark contrast, the adult homicide arrest rate fell over this period. Inner-city communities have also seen a divergence in male and female performance along a number of other dimensions (Wilson 1987). Whether the rise in gangs play a causal role in these trends, or are perhaps caused by these

Street gangs have a long history in American cities (Thrasher 1927). Until recently, gangs were organized primarily as social peer groups. Any economic activities were of secondary importance (Suttles 1968, Klein 1995). The last two decades, however, have given rise to a dramatic transformation in street gangs, or what Taylor (1990) terms their "corporatization." When crack became widely available in the mid-1980s, sold in small quantities in fragmented street-corner markets, street gangs became the logical distributors. The potential profit in drug dealing dwarfed that previously available to gangs through other criminal channels. As a consequence, the economic activity of drug distribution quickly emerged as the focus around which many gangs are organized. In concert with declining legitimate labor market opportunities and increasing concentrations of poverty in inner cities (Wilson 1987), the new economic underpinning of street gangs has led to a dramatic increase in gang involvement. Landre. Miller, and Porter (1997) estimate that the number of individuals associated with street gangs in California alone is projected to reach 250,000 by the year 2000, although this number includes not only hardcore gang members involved directly in drug distribution, but also those on the periphery. The timing of the rise in gang activity corresponds to a period of rising inner-city youth violence. Between 1985 and 1995, the homicide arrest rate among those aged 13 to 17 doubled (Blumstein 1995, Cook and Laub 1997). Increases among African-American youths were particularly great, more than tripling (to a level five times higher than whites). In stark contrast, the adult homicide arrest rate fell over this period. Inner-city communities have also seen a divergence in male and female performance along a number of other dimensions (Wilson 1987). Whether the rise in gangs play a causal role in these trends, or are perhaps caused by these

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In the mid-1990s, changes to law enforcement strategies in New York City pushed many women working in the sex trade off of the streets and into the indoors. Increasing numbers of women began advertising sexual services in bars, over the Internet, and in print media, and conducting their work in their homes, hotels, and brothels. This study uses indepth interviews and participant observation to examine the impact of this change on the life and work of women working in New York's indoor sex trade. A critical finding is that as women move their work indoors, they begin to conceive of sex work as a profession and a career, rather than just a short-term means of employment. This "professional and careerist orientation" may have significant implications for the length of women's tenure in sex work and ultimately, for their ability to exit the trade completely.

This article provides an economic analysis of underground gun markets, drawing on interviews with gang members, gun dealers, professional thieves, prostitutes, police, public school security guards and teenagers in the city of Chicago, complemented by results from government surveys of recent arrestees in 22 cities, plus administrative data for suicides, homicides, robberies, arrests and confiscated crime guns. We find evidence that transactions costs are considerable in the underground gun market in Chicago, and to some extent in other cities as well. The most likely explanation is that the underground gun market is both illegal and 'thin'- relevant information about trading opportunities is scarce due to illegality, which makes search costly for market participants and leads to a market thickness effect on transaction costs. Copyright 2007 The Author(s). Journal compilation Royal Economic Society 2007.