Researching Illicit Economies

This chapter argues that researching illicit economies is best understood as an exercise in partial and situated knowledge production under conditions of secrecy, coercion, and criminalisation. Because illicit activity is strategically concealed, common quantitative indicators—arrests, seizures, prosecutions—often function as traces of detection rather than mirrors of underlying market dynamics, producing distortions that can reshape research agendas. The chapter shows how definitional choices (illegal vs. illicit; criminal vs. informal; shifting legal boundaries over time) are inseparable from method, because they determine what becomes observable, which institutions generate “data,” and what forms of inquiry are ethically defensible. It then maps four epistemological orientations—measurement-based, criminological/market, political economy, and anthropological/experiential—arguing for epistemological pluralism rather than a single privileged approach. Across quantitative, ethnographic, interview-based, documentary, and creative/participatory strategies, the chapter highlights recurring trade-offs between visibility and safety, proximity and complicity, and evidence and harm. It emphasises methodological restraint—strategic opacity, careful anonymisation, and responsible communication of uncertainty—as a form of rigour, not a weakness. Ultimately, the chapter frames research design, access, and dissemination as moral decisions that shape not only what can be known about illicit economies but also the downstream consequences of making that knowledge legible to powerful audiences.