Cooperation, punishment and organized crime: a lab-in-the-field experiment in southern Italy

Annamaria Nese, Shane Niall O'Higgins, Patrizia Sbriglia and Maurizio Scudiero

European Economic Review, 2018, vol. 107, issue C, 86-98

Abstract: This paper reports the results of an experimental investigation which provides insights into the social preferences of organized criminals and how these differ from those of “ordinary” criminals on the one hand and from those of the non-criminal population in the same geographical area on the other. We develop experimental evidence on cooperation and response to sanctions by running prisoner's dilemma and third party punishment games on three different pools of subjects; students, ordinary criminals and Camorristi (Neapolitan ‘Mafiosi’). The latter two groups were recruited from within prisons. Camorra prisoners show a high degree of cooperativeness and a strong tendency to punish defectors, as well as a clear rejection of the imposition of external rules even at significant cost to themselves. The subsequent econometric analysis further enriches our understanding demonstrating inter alia that individuals’ locus of control and reciprocity are associated with quite different and opposing behaviours amongst different participant types; a strong sense of self-determination and reciprocity both imply a higher propensity to punish for Camorra inmates, but quite the opposite for ordinary criminals, further reinforcing the contrast between the behaviour of ordinary criminals and the strong internal mores of Camorra clans.

Keywords: Prisoner's dilemma; Third party punishment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C25 C9 D03 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Working Paper: Cooperation, Punishment and Organized Crime: A Lab-in-the-Field Experiment in Southern Italy (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:107:y:2018:i:c:p:86-98

DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2018.05.004

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