Search results for "extortion"
showing 10 items of 21 documents
The Camorra and protection rackets: the cost to business
2016
Based on the observations from the judicial and investigative evidence provided by prosecutors in Camorra areas in Italy, this investigation provides an estimate of the economic impact of extortion racket to businesses. In particular, the estimates refer to the total and average withdrawal of monetary amounts from the businesses victimised by Camorra clans. Further insights are provided in terms of economic activities mostly victimised, and specifically the construction sector, which is subject to a different type of extortion racket.
An institutional perspective on corruption in transition economies
2017
Submitted version (preprint). This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Alon, A. & Hageman, A. (2017). An institutional perspective on corruption in transition economies. Corporate governance: An International Review, 25(3), 155-166, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/corg.12199. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: Companies operating in transition economies encounter a broad range of potential challenges. In the area of tax, firms make direct tax payments but may also encounter unofficial t…
Mafia Methods, Extortion Dynamics and Social Responses
2016
This chapter is devoted to exploring both the empirical results and the policy proposals produced by the GLODERS project. Based on 631 cases of extortions, the Sicily and Calabria extortion database represents a relevant achievement in the field of the research on extortion racket and it is one of the main results of the GLODERS project. Gathering a great amount of information, our empirical analysis revealed the existence of several differences in the extortive conducts carried on within these two regions, which are presented. Moreover, the chapter introduces the legislation related to the crime of extortion. Social and legal responses to the phenomenon are then discussed.
An Agent-Based Model of Extortion Racketeering
2016
Mafias can be considered as criminal organisations that are in the business of producing, promoting, and selling protection. Here, we describe the Palermo Scenario, an agent-based model of protection rackets aimed to deepen our understanding of protection rackets, and help policymakers to evaluate methods for destabilising them. Additionally, since the system is explicitly specified, we can use it to investigate the entire causal pathway from cause to effect: not only from actions to Mafia destabilisation, but also the intermediate actions along the path and actors' internal mental representations among the population.
On the Macroeconomic Effect of Extortion: An Agent-Based Approach
2021
This work proposes an agent-based approach to study the effect of extortion on macroeconomic aggregates, despite the fact that there is little data on this criminal activity given its hidden nature. We develop a Bottom-up Adaptive Macroeconomics (BAM) model that simulates a healthy economy, including a moderate inflation and a reasonable unemployment rate, and test the impact of extortion on various macroeconomic signals. The BAM model defines the usual interactions among workers, firms and banks in labour, goods and credit markets. Subsequently, crime is introduced by defining the propensity of the poorest workers to become extortionists, as well as the efficiency of the police in terms of…
Per una critica dell’art. 319-quater c.p. Una terza via tra concussione e corruzione
2013
L’introduzione dell’art. 319-quater mira a risolvere i problemi storicamente po-sti dalla distinzione tra corruzione e concussione. Pur sorretta da uno spunto condivisibile, quella disposizione, per il modo in cui è concretamente concepita, finisce tuttavia per solle-vare un novero di questioni fors’anche superiore rispetto a quelle che contribuisce a risolve-re. Gli stessi problemi si sarebbero potuti assai più agevolmente risolvere, già in vigenza del precedente sistema, sol che si fosse accettato di superare il dogma della mutua esclusività di quelle due fattispecie.
Resisting the extortion racket: an empirical analysis
2018
While the contributions on the organized crime and Mafia environments are many, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the firm’s decision to resist to extortion. Our case study is based on Addiopizzo, an NGO that, from 2004, invites firms to refuse requests from the local Mafia and to join a public list of “non-payers”. The research is based on a dataset obtained linking the current administrative archives maintained by the chambers of commerce and the list updated by the NGO. The objective of this paper is twofold: first, to gather sound data on the characteristics of the Addiopizzo joiners; second to model the probability to join Addiopizzo by a two-level logistic regression model. We …
Exploring the determinants of anti-mafia entrepreneurial behaviour: an empirical study on southern Italian SMEs
2017
This study analyses organized crime from an economic perspective and highlights the crucial role of extortion in mafia activities. From an economic viewpoint, we debate the conditions that lead companies to resist mafia extortion. To study the reactions of firms to extortion, we adopt an institutional perspective and consider the contribution of different theories in the socially responsible behaviour and organized crime literature, in an attempt to understand this complex entrepreneurial behaviour better. A sample of 116 southern Italian SMEs, whose entrepreneurs have publicly opposed mafia extortion, was selected. By adopting a matched-pair design, anti-mafia firms were subsequently match…
Sicily and Calabria Extortion Database
2015
The Sicily and Calabria Extortion Database was extracted from police and court documents by the Palermo team of the GLODERS — Global Dynamics of Extortion Racket Systems — project which has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement no. 315874 (http://www.gloders.eu, “Global dynamics of extortion racket systems”). The data are provided as an SPSS file with variable names, variable labels, value labels where appropriate, missing value definitions where appropriate. Variable and value labels are given in English translation, string texts are quoted from the Italian originals as we thought that a translation could bias the informa…
Civic engagement, corporate social responsibility and the fight against the extortion racket
2019
The chapter focuses on the concept of civic engagement, paying primary attention to the social responsibilities of business owners who are consolidated in the moment in which they decide to cooperate with each other and to collaborate with the police force in favour of action against criminality of a mafia nature. In the following pages, the author examines the reasons given by some business owners for their rebellion against the extortion rackets.