Migrating Mafias

In the last decades, Italian southern-based mafia organizations have expanded their sphere of influences to the traditionally immune Northern regions. We empirically investigate the channels that favored the diffusion of southern Italian mafias to the northern Italian provinces. We focus our attention on two key factors: i) the large influx of southern migrants during the economic miracle period and ii) the application of the confino law which imposed mafiosi to resettle far from their province of origin. Our findings suggest that the interaction between forced resettlement and migration has represented a crucial factor in favoring criminal organizations transplantation to central and northern regions.