Graduation Year

2025

Date of Submission

12-2024

Document Type

Open Access Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Economics

Reader 1

Richard Burdekin

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© 2024 Giselle Adiyia

Abstract

The Italian Mafia, encompassing groups like the Cosa Nostra, Camorra, and 'Ndrangheta, has historically exerted significant influence across Italy’s economy and governance through criminal and legitimate enterprises. This thesis investigates the Mafia’s infiltration into the waste management and retail sectors, employing a mix of economic data analysis and theoretical frameworks to uncover the mechanisms and extent of their impact. Using publicly available data from Bloomberg Terminal, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), this study examines indicators such as corruption, extortion, money laundering, environmental crimes, and drug trafficking.

Simple regression models were applied to analyze the relationship between mafia-related activities and market performance of publicly traded companies in Italy, and comparative analyses were conducted for France, Germany, and Spain. Results show that Italian waste management and retail companies exhibit statistically significant relationships with mafia activities, particularly corruption, extortion, and environmental crimes. These relationships are less pronounced or absent in other Eurozone countries, highlighting the unique pervasiveness of organized crime in Italy. The analysis further reveals that the Mafia uses waste management businesses for illegal toxic waste dumping and leverages retail operations to launder money and traffic stolen goods.

By exploring these dynamics, this thesis underscores the broader implications of organized crime on Italy’s economic sectors and contrasts these findings with those in other European markets. The findings contribute to understanding how deeply rooted mafia operations are in legitimate businesses, posing challenges for regulation, enforcement, and economic development.

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