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Economic Structure and Vulnerability to Organised Crime: Evidence from Sicily

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  • Lavezzi, Andrea Mario

Abstract

The economic analysis of organized crime suggests that some economic activities are particularly vulnerable to penetration by criminal organizations. This paper provides an analysis of the structure of the Sicilian economy and shows that, when compared to other Italian regions, it is characterized by a disproportionate presence of such activities. In particular, the economy of Sicily appears characterized by: (i) a large dimension of traditional sectors, such as the Construction sector, which also has a strong territorial specificity; (ii) a large presence of small firms; (iii) a low level of technology; (iii) a large public sector. The joint presence of these features creates fertile soil for the typical activities of organized crime, such as extortion and cartel enforcement. Hence, we propose an alternative explanation of the persistence of organized crime with respect to explanations based on cultural and social factors

Suggested Citation

  • Lavezzi, Andrea Mario, 2008. "Economic Structure and Vulnerability to Organised Crime: Evidence from Sicily," MPRA Paper 50114, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:50114
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Francesca M. Calamunci & Livio Ferrante & Rossana Scebba, 2022. "Closed for mafia: Evidence from the removal of mafia firms on commercial property values," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(5), pages 1487-1511, November.
    2. Michele Battisti & Andrea Mario Lavezzi & Lucio Masserini & Monica Pratesi, 2018. "Resisting the extortion racket: an empirical analysis," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 1-37, August.
    3. Robert McLean & Grace Robinson & James Densley, 2018. "The Rise of Drug Dealing in the Life of the North American Street Gang," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-10, September.
    4. Francesco Calderoni & Tommaso Comunale & Gian Maria Campedelli & Martina Marchesi & Deborah Manzi & Niccolò Frualdo, 2022. "Organized crime groups: A systematic review of individual‐level risk factors related to recruitment," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(1), March.
    5. Balletta, Luigi & Lavezzi, Andrea Mario, 2023. "The economics of extortion: Theory and the case of the Sicilian Mafia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 1109-1141.
    6. Valeria Virginia Checchi & Michele Polo, 2020. "Blowing in the Wind: The Infiltration of Sicilian Mafia in the Wind Power Business," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 6(2), pages 325-353, July.
    7. Alfano, Maria Rosaria & Cantabene, Claudia & Silipo, Damiano Bruno, 2019. "Mafia Firms and Aftermaths," EconStor Preprints 200255, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    8. Silvia Dal Bianco, 2009. "A Reassessment of Italian Regional Convergence through a Non-Parametric Approach," Quaderni di Dipartimento 099, University of Pavia, Department of Economics and Quantitative Methods.
    9. Marco Dugato & Francesco Calderoni & Gian Maria Campedelli, 2020. "Measuring Organised Crime Presence at the Municipal Level," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 237-261, January.
    10. Gianmarco Daniele & Gemma Dipoppa, 2018. "Doing Business Below the Line: Screening, Mafias and Public Funds," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 1898, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    11. Ken Yahagi, 2018. "Welfare effects of forming a criminal organization," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 359-375, December.
    12. Nicola Mastrorocco, 2018. "Organised Crime, Captured Politicians and the Allocation of Public Resources," Trinity Economics Papers tep1018, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
    13. Tamara Fioroni & Andrea Mario Lavezzi & Giovanni Trovato, 2023. "Organized Crime, Corruption and Economic Growth," Discussion Papers 2023/298, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
    14. Astarita, Caterina & Capuano, Carlo & Purificato, Francesco, 2018. "The macroeconomic impact of organised crime: A post-Keynesian analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 514-528.
    15. Áron Székely & Luis G. Nardin & Giulia Andrighetto, 2018. "Countering Protection Rackets Using Legal and Social Approaches: An Agent-Based Test," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2018, pages 1-16, December.
    16. Giovanni Bernardo & Irene Brunetti & Mehmet Pinar & Thanasis Stengos, 2021. "Measuring the presence of organized crime across Italian provinces: a sensitivity analysis," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 31-95, February.
    17. Luigi Balletta & Andrea Mario Lavezzi, 2019. "The Economics of Extortion: Theory and Evidence on the Sicilian Mafia," Discussion Papers 2019/242, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Organised Crime; Economic Structure; Sicilian Mafia; Economic Development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth

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