This course is devoted to the analysis of different mechanisms of law enforcement (legal, economic, social, moral and political), both from a theoretical and from an empirical point of view. The insights from the standard economic model of crime, with its focus on legal and economic incentives, will be complemented with those coming from the analysis of social and moral determinants of crime, with a special focus on the endogenous formation of social and moral norms, on stigmatisation and on temptation, as well as on the interaction between organized crime and politics. Most of the attention will be devoted to articles denoted with a star (*) in the reading list.
All classes take place in January 2021, in the Seminar Room, Piazza Scaravilli 2
Tue 12, 3pm-6pm
Legal enforcement of law (PDF)
Crime and Legalization of Recreational Marijuana (PDF)
Thu 14, 3pm-6pm
Economic enforcement of law (PDF)
Tue 19, 3pm-6pm
Social enforcement of law (PDF)
Does Social Capital Reduce Crime? (PDF)
Crime and Social Sanction (PDF)
Social Closure, Surnames and Crime (PDF)
Thu 21, 3pm-6pm
Moral enforcement of law (PDF)
“Thou Shalt Not Covet”: Prohibitions, Temptation and Moral Values (PDF)
Tue 26, 3pm-6pm
Political enforcement of law and organized crime (PDF)
Resource Curse in the Origins of the Sicilian Mafia (PDF)
Organized Crime and Electoral Outcomes (PDF)
Terrorism Risk and Democratic Preferences in Pakistan (PDF)
Prerequisites
Knowledge of Game Theory and Micro-econometrics is helpful to better understand the theoretical and empirical parts of the course, although the basic tools will be explained, at least at an intuitive level, along the way.
Learning outcomes
The aim of the course is to provide instruments to (i) understand this segment of literature, (ii) identify interesting questions and (iii) manage the theoretical and empirical tools to tackle such questions.
Assessment methods
Students are required to write a research proposal, and send it by email to the instructor (paolo.vanin@unibo.it) by 23 February 2021, on some of the following topics: anarchy, violence, organized crime and state capacity. The proposal should identify a research question, explain why it is interesting and relevant, articulate the intended way of addressing it, theoretically or empirically, address the feasibility of the proposed method, and explain the expected results, the expected contribution to the relevant literature and the possible policy implications (if any).
Teaching methods
Each class will develop one topic, presenting classic and recent contributions from the literature and discussing both results, methodological problems and research possibilities.
Teaching tools
All materials will be published on the course webpage.
Office hours
Wednesday, 12:00-13:00, or by appointment.
Office: Piazza Scaravilli 2, Room 177, First floor
Tel. 051 – 209 2758
Email: paolo.vanin@unibo.it
(* denotes required readings)
THEORY
EMPIRICS