This paper studies the origins and consequences of the Russian mafia (vory-v-zakone). I web scraped a unique dataset that contains detailed biographies of more than 5,000 mafia leaders operating in 15 countries of the (former) Soviet Union at some point between 1916 and 2017. Using this data, I...

We show that the War on Drugs launched by the Mexican President Felipe Calderón in 2007 pushed drug cartels into large-scale oil thefts. Municipalities that the presidential candidate’s party barely won at the local elections in 2007-2009 exhibit a larger increase in illegal oil taps over the...

Mexico has experienced a dramatic increase in violence during the last decade. This increase has been associated with turf wars among Drug Trafficking Organisations (DTOs) for the control of strategic territories. This paper examines whether these territorial disputes are higher during the lame...

Organized crime reinforces its corrupting influence on politics through violent intimidation. Anti-crime measures that increase the cost of corruption but not of the exercise of violence might accordingly lead mafia-style organizations to retaliate by resorting to violence in lieu of bribery. On...

How do changes in mobility impact crime? Using police precinct-level daily crime statistics and shootings data from the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, we estimate that extortion, theft, and robberies decrease by at least 41.6% following COVID-19 mandated stay-at-home orders and changes in...

Recent technological advancements and the digitization of most financial services have transformed the way by which individuals deal with their financial transactions. It has also affected the focus of financial institutions’ investments, as well as the sectors’ market dynamic, with the...

For decades, illicit economies have predominantly been studied and debated as a security problem with social and development consequences. However, the interaction between illicit economies and the environment, in cases such as illicit drug crop cultivation and drugs production, is more recent...

Through this paper, the author emphasises the importance of the role that migrant women and men play in the Italian agricultural sector, and the need to better protect them from forms of labour exploitation. Italian products are well known all over the world and represent the excellency of an...

Transnational Organized Crimes not merely have a bearing to the security of states, but also to that of its economy, given the large retail value of these crimes. Illicit Drug Trafficking, Terrorism, Money Laundering, smuggling, arms trade are not crimes independent of other crimes. They have a...

Combating the expansion of criminal organizations has long been on the agenda of the European Union, but to date the steps towards the adoption of a common strategy have been timid. And this despite the European Union’s request for alignment of the laws and regulations of the Member States....

This study captures the presence of organized crime groups in the Italian territories and examines their relationship to firms that are in a condition of financial distress. At the end of the nineteenth century the first criminal groups emerged in the South of Italy as a response to the demand...

Local governments suspected of Mafia infiltration can be dismissed in Italy through an administrative act not increasing formal deterrence but potentially signaling improved law enforcement among local communities. This paper finds that dismissals are associated to a persistent fall of petty...

Few expect illegal drug markets to completely disappear in a world of legally regulated psychoactive substances, but it is likely that the regulation of currently illicit drugs would significantly challenge the business model of today’s drug trafficking organizations. This article examines if...

Introducción: Conductas, delitos y beneficios económicos. 1. Los delitos con finalidad lucrativa -- 2. El discurso de las finanzas ilícitas en España -- 3. Qué sabemos de la economía ilícita? -- Primera parte: La generación de activos ilícitos. 4. Ilícitos generados con delitos...

Der gröt︣e Exportschlager Italiens ist seine Küche. Der Anteil der Mafia an diesem Geschäft: 25 Milliarden Euro jährlich. Sie kontrolliert nicht selten gesamte Lieferketten, vom Anbau bis zum Endprodukt. Und durch die Coronakrise hat sich ihr Einfluss noch vergröe︣rt. Die Leidtragenden...

Gangs govern millions worldwide. Why rule? And how do they respond to states? Many argue that criminal rule provides protection when states do not, and that increasing state services could crowd gangs out. We began by interviewing leaders from 30 criminal groups in Medellin. The conventional...

Anhand von vier Beispielen beschreibt Investigativjournalist Burgis, wie die Welt durch schmutziges Geld korrumpiert wird: ein Provokateur aus England, ein ehemaliger sowjetischer Milliardär, ein korrekter kanadischer Anwalt mit einem kriminellen Klienten und ein von der CIA geschützter...

Cover -- Half-Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Description -- Contents -- Preface -- Chapter 1: Introduction: Revisiting and Revising Organized Crime -- Chapter 2: Welcome to the Gig (Crime) Economy -- Chapter 3: Why Smaller/More Flexible Cell- Like Nodes and Networks? -- Chapter 4: The...

We model major criminal activity as a game in which a law enforcement officer chooses the rate at which to screen different population groups and a criminal organization (e.g., drug cartel, terrorist cell) chooses the observable characteristics of its recruits. Our model best describes smuggling...

Violence in Mexico has reached unprecedented levels in recent times. After the government began a crackdown on drug cartels, nation-wide homicides almost tripled between 2006 and 2010. Using rich longitudinal plant-level data, this paper studies the impact of violent conflict on firms,...

"Burgis, an investigative journalist, draws on insider interviews to expose the role of international corruption and organized crime on the political arenas of today's world. He exposes how this global kleptocracy is corrupting the world around us. In weaving together four stories that reveal a...