The “underground economy” literature has generated a plethora of vague terms (shadow, hidden, subterranean) that have served to confuse rather than clarify the substantive issues raised by the finding that significant segments of economic activity may be imperfectly accounted for in the...

In the 2016 presidential election, many candidates delayed announcing their candidacy until long after anyone who was paying attention realized that they were considering a run for office. In the past, these candidates may have been considered to be “testing the waters,” a special status...

In McDonnell v. United States, the Supreme Court constrained the reach of federal anti-corruption law, declared the inevitability and even desirability of representatives aggrandizing favored constituents, and asserted patronage to be a hallmark of democracy. The unanimous decision is the latest...

Though now possible, no European state is competing for incorporations, and this is unlikely to happen in a general fashion. In this paper I argue, however, that the possibility of one state competing for one specific segment of the market for incorporations should not be ruled out altogether....

The Department of Justice entered into hundreds of deferred and non-prosecution agreements (DPAs and NPAs) with corporations over the last twenty years, and continues to increase the use of these agreements every year. However, there is no academic scholarship that explores whether the DOJ has...

A central question in terms of political (self-)selection relates to the incentives leading high ability individuals to enter – or abstain from entering – into politics. In this article, we use data from Italian municipalities over the period 1985-2012 to empirically assess how changes in...

Ride sharing has disrupted the transportation-for-hire industry, breaking down barriers to entry that have protected incumbents in the industry for decades. The disruption has led to calls for increased regulation, along with criticisms about the effect of innovation on consumer safety, market...

What is the impact of organised crime on the allocation of public resources and on tax collection? This paper studies the consequences of collusion between members of criminal organisations and politicians in Italian local governments. In order to capture the presence of organised crime, we...

I investigate if, how, and why the effect of a contribution rule in a public goods game depends on how it is implemented: endogenously chosen or externally imposed. The rule prescribes full contributions to the public good backed by a nondeterrent sanction for those who do not comply. My...

This paper examines ethical opinion on bribe taking in four African countries – South Africa, Ghana, Ethiopia and Rwanda. Nineteen demographic variables (gender, age, marital status, etc.) are also examined. Although all countries expressed a strong opposition to bribe taking, opposition was...