ALL IS NOT LOST: Organized Crime and Social Capital Formation

Paolo Buonanno, Irene Ferrari and Alessandro Saia ()
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Alessandro Saia: Department of Economics, University of Bologna

No 2023: 16, Working Papers from Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari"

Abstract: We investigate how a disruptive social event, namely the emergence of organized crime infiltration in the local government, shapes social capital. We exploit the dismissal of city councils infiltrated by organized crime and a novel and fine-grained measure of social capital in Italy. Using a difference-indifferences strategy, we show that municipalities' dissolution is associated with a significant and sizable increase in social capital. We document the mechanisms through which the presence of organized crime affects social capital, including trust diversion, changes in civic engagement, and its impact on local institutions and governance.

Keywords: organized crime; social capital; Italy; 5 per Mille (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 D73 H71 K42 Z18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 75 pages
Date: 2023, Revised 2024
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-law, nep-soc and nep-ure
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ven:wpaper:2023:16

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