Poor Institutions, Rich Mines:Resource Curse in the Origins of the Sicilian Mafia

Buonanno, Paolo and Durante, Ruben and Prarolo, Giovanni and Vanin, Paolo (2015) Poor Institutions, Rich Mines:Resource Curse in the Origins of the Sicilian Mafia. Economic Journal, 125 (586). F175-F202. ISSN 0013-0133

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Abstract

With weak law‐enforcement institutions, a positive shock to the value of natural resources may increase demand for private protection and opportunities for rent appropriation through extortion, favouring the emergence of mafia‐type organisations. We test this hypothesis by investigating the emergence of the mafia in twentieth century Sicily, where a severe lack of state property‐rights enforcement coincided with a steep rise in international demand for sulphur, Sicily's most valuable export commodity. Using historical data on the early incidence of mafia activity and on the distribution of sulphur reserves, we document that the mafia was more present in municipalities with greater sulphur availability.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Economic Journal
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2000/2002
Subjects:
?? ECONOMICS AND ECONOMETRICS ??
ID Code:
138536
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
04 Nov 2019 11:55
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
15 Sep 2023 01:02