Business and Low Corruption: Evidence from Southern Italy

Abstract

Corruption affects economic activities and the way how individuals interact in the private market and in the public sector (Pardo, 2017; Rose-Ackerman & Soreide, 2011). A definition of corruption generally adopted by economists, is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. However, this definition remains too restricted to understand a complex phenomenon (Torsello & Venard, 2016). The objective of this research project is to deeper analyze the interaction between corruption and private sector, by adopting a much broader definition from the anthropological literature. The main motivation and also the anthropological contribution of our study come from the book of Zinn (2019), Raccomandazione, Clientelism and Connections in Italy. We use Raccomandazione (recommendation) as a form of corruption. As stated by Zinn (2018) "Raccomandazione is a widespread phenomenon in Italian culture that refers to the use of social connections in order to get things done. The existence of the Raccomandazione cannot be measured or assessed directly thought data and empirical analysis. This is why ethnographic interviews, that can find factual evidences, might provide a support and help our economic analysis. The novelty of this research project consists indeed in combining empirical economic analysis with qualitative data from ethnographic interviews. This will allow us to better interpret the complex interactions existing within a corrupted environment.