Many studies analyze the economics of crime and the relationship between the motives and the illegitimate activities that slow down economic growth in the long run. This work aims to contribute to the general debate examining specific types of crime, usury and extortion in a particular Italian region: the Mezzogiorno strongly affected by them, in order to measure the impact of deterrence measures and financial and socioeconomic variables on these crimes.
Keywords: Regional development; Italy; illegal behavior, deterrence, economic variables, models with panel data.
Jel Code: R11, K42, C33