The paper estimates the effects of organized crime on FDI inflows in 103 Italian provinces in the period 2004-06. The presence of organized crime at a provincial level is quantified through several indicators, based on data for different kinds of crimes: extortion; association for criminal...

The recent work by E. Felice, "Perché il Sud è rimasto indietro", Bologna, Il Mulino, 2013, is rather a pamphlet than a book of economic history. In the present article, we discuss both the statistical series of regional GDP from 1871 until 2001 worked out by Felice (section 1), and the...

The debate on the «curse of natural resources» is a topical issue in empirical research on economic development. This paper examines the relationship between natural resources and growth rates in a cross-section of countries, by separately analyzing abundance of resources and dependence on...

This paper examines the relationship between public spending and regional growth in Italy in the period 1996-2007. The main results suggest that, in the period examined, a phase of RO and beta-convergence in productivity took place. Despite the profound regional disparities existing in Italy,...

This paper offers a review of the effects of organized crime on regional economic development, with particular reference to the case of Italy. After reviewing the empirical studies that analyse the relationship between crime and economic development, the paper examines the regional distribution...

The paper estimates the effects of organized crime on FDI inflows in 103 Italian provinces in the period 2004-06. The presence of organized crime at a provincial level is quantified through several indicators, based on data for different kinds of crimes: extortion; association for criminal...