Data and Code for Organized Crime and Economic Growth: Evidence from Municipalities Infiltrated by the Mafia

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Alessandra Fenizia, GWU; Raffaele Saggio, UBC

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
Replication package March2024			05/15/2024 07:28:PM

Project Citation:

Fenizia, Alessandra, and Saggio, Raffaele. Data and Code for Organized Crime and Economic Growth: Evidence from Municipalities Infiltrated by the Mafia. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2024. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-05-28. https://doi.org/10.3886/E197843V1

Project Description

Summary: This paper studies the long-run economic impact of dismissing city councils infiltrated by organized crime. Applying a matched difference-in-differences design to the universe of Italian social security records, we find that city council dismissals (CCDs) increase employment, the number of firms, and industrial real estate prices. The effects are concentrated in Mafia-dominated sectors and in municipalities where fewer incumbents are re-elected. The dismissals generate large economic returns by weakening the Mafia and fostering trust in local institutions. The analysis suggests that CCDs represent an effective intervention for establishing legitimacy and spurring economic activity in areas dominated by organized crime.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: City Council Dismissals; Mafia; Policy Evaluation; government corruption

JEL Classification:
      D73 Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
      G38 Corporate Finance and Governance: Government Policy and Regulation
      K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

Geographic Coverage: Italy

Time Period(s): 1991 – 2016

Data Type(s): census/enumeration data; program source code

Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V1 [2024-05-28]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as received from the data depositor. As of April 2026, depositors are required to submit study materials in accessible formats. ICPSR has not reviewed, checked, or processed this material. For additional information about the study, please contact the investigator(s) directly. If you have questions about the accessibility of materials distributed by ICPSR or require further assistance, please visit ICPSR's Accessibility Center.