Economic aspects of the complementarity between corruption and crime: evidence from Italy in the period 1996-2005

This paper empirically investigates the connection between corruption and crime. Such linkage has been often underestimated because corruption has been often analysed as a white-collar crime. In fact, it is not characterised by violence. Recently, a theoretical connection has been suggested to highlight that corruption and crime can be considered strategic complements. This paper, therefore, delves into the link between corruption and crime investigating empirically this relation for Italian regions in the period 1996-2005. Results show that current crime is positively associated with past levels of corruption. This somehow confirms the complementary relationship between the two illicit phenomena.