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Mafias

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Abstract

Organized crime has far reaching economic, political, and social consequences. This entry presents the basic facts on the economics of mafias, with a special focus on the Sicilian case that may serve as a window into other types of criminal organizations. First, the entry provides a brief sketch of the theoretical modelling of the mafia. Then, it reviews the theoretical and empirical work testing the role of geography in the historical origins of the mafia. Finally, the entry explores the economic impact of the mafia in terms of missed opportunities of development, both in the short and in the long run. Different transmission channels are explored.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bank of Italy and RCEA, Bologna, Italy

    Guglielmo Barone

  2. Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Gaia Narciso

Authors
  1. Guglielmo Barone
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  2. Gaia Narciso
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guglielmo Barone .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. MRE and University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Alain Marciano

  2. Faculté d’Economie, Université de Montpellier and LAMETA-UMR CNRS, Montpellier, France

    Alain Marciano

  3. DiGSPES, University of Eastern Piedmont, Alessandria, Italy

    Giovanni Battista Ramello

  4. IEL, Torino, Italy

    Giovanni Battista Ramello

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Barone, G., Narciso, G. (2019). Mafias. In: Marciano, A., Ramello, G.B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Law and Economics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7753-2_573

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