The Determinant of Money Laundering: Evidence from Italian Regions

Following the INTERPOL’s definition, money laundering is: “any act or attempted act to conceal or disguise the identity of illegally obtained proceeds so that they appear to have originated from legitimate sources”. Illegally obtained funds are laundered and moved around the world using front companies, intermediaries and other money transmitters. In this way, the illegal funds remain hidden and are integrated into the legal economy. Such type of crime undermines financial institutions’ and jurisdictions’ reputation, compromises investors’ trust in them, and therefore weakens the entire financial system. By using annual data for the Italian regions (NUTS-2) over the period 2008 to 2015, this work aims to investigate the determinants of money laundering in Italy. Given the high heterogeneity in terms of economic and institutional characteristics, as well as for the activity of organized crime in financial-related activities, Italy is a compelling case study. Our main findings reveal that in most of the Italian regions enforcement activities do exert significant deterrence on criminal behaviors: a negative relationship between enforcement and illegal trafficking of waste can be identified only for very high levels of enforcement efforts. Moreover, we find that the major determinants influencing the rate of money laundering differ between northern-central and southern regions, confirming the existence of a regional dualism. In particular, while in the northern-central area the crime rate is positively related to the level of corruption, the incidence of mafia-type crimes and negatively to the education attainment, in the southern regions money laundering is positively related to the size of the gaming and gambling sector

How to detect illegal waste shipments? The case of the international trade in polyethylene waste

The purpose of this research is to provide a methodological framework that is able to enhance our capability to detect illegal waste shipment with particular reference to waste plastics. Based on a very large cross-sectional dataset covering 187 countries over the period 2002-2012, our study aims to do this by using both the mirror statistics method and the network analysis. Specifically, by using mirror statistics, we identify the existence of a set of “suspicious” trade relations between pairs of countries. Then, we employ social network analysis in order to define the position of each country in this illegal trade structure, and to have a clear exposition of the connections between them. Our main findings reveal the central positions of the USA, Germany and the UK as sources and China and Malaysia as outlets of illegal shipments of waste plastics. Moreover, our methodology allows us to highlight the presence of other countries, which carry out an intermediary role within the global trade network, and to detect the changes in traditional illegal shipment routes. Therefore, this paper shows how social network analysis provides a useful instrument by means of which crime analysts and police detectives can develop effective strategies to interdict criminal activities

Illegal trafficking and unsustainable waste management in Italy: evidence at the regional level

The presence of organized crime strongly affects sustainable waste management in Italy. In particular, illegal traf cking of waste has become one of the fastest growing areas of crime and one of the most lucrative industries among organized criminal activities, which has now in ltrated both the Italian urban and hazardous waste management cycle. In this study, we aim to investigate the determinants of the illegal traf cking of waste using waste, economic, and enforcement data in a panel analysis over the period 2002-2013. The topic is particularly relevant, given the high heterogeneity across Italian regions which also relates, and eventually leads, to different environmental performances. Our main ndings reveal that, in most Italian regions, enforcement activities do not exert a signi cant deterrence on criminal behaviors; a negative relationship between enforcement and illegal traf cking of waste can be identi ed only for very high levels of enforcement efforts. Moreover, we nd that the major determinants in uencing the rate of illegal traf cking of waste differ between northern-central and southern regions, con rming the existence of a regional dualism. In particular, while in the northern-central area the crime rate is positively related to the level of education and negatively to the adoption of environmentally sound policies, in southern regions the organized activities for illegal traf cking are negatively related to the degree of education attainment and positively to the endowment of waste management plants

Do Multinational enterprises push up wages of domestic firms in the Italian Manufacturing sector?

This paper analyzes the effects of foreign direct investment on wages paid by domestic firms in the Italian manufacturing sector over the period 2002–2007. In particular, the authors investigate the im-pact of multinational enterprises on wages paid by local firms which operate in the same industry, known and horizontal wage spillovers, or have linkages with multinational enterprises in both downstream and upstream industries, known as vertical wage spillovers. By using a large panel dataset, consisting of 551,000 observations, the authors find evidence of wage spillovers only at inter-industry level and, more specifically, for those firms who supply their goods to multinational enterprises, described as backward wage spillovers. Moreover, findings suggest that the wage spillover effect is strongly affected by the technological gap between local and foreign firms: only workers employed in domestic firms with a low-medium technological absorptive capacity seem to benefit from the presence of multinational enterprises in terms of higher wages

I processi di internazionalizzazione delle PMI in Unioncamere

Rapporto Unioncamere/Tagliacarn

JEMOLO E L’ECONOMIA: TRENTA ANNI DOPO

Partendo dalla ricostruzione della rete dei rapporti personali che Jemolo ebbe con economisti di professione nonché dalla analisi delle sue opere, della sua vasta e diversificata attività pubblicistica e della corrispondenza, il saggio prova a tracciare i principali tratti del ‘pensiero economico’ del giurista