ABSTRACT
Rocco Chinnici was among the first to understand that Cosa Nostra was a vast and unitary organisation. Therefore, special policy instruments were required in order to fight it. In 2006, the Foundation that bears his name decided to create a research group whose task was to analyse economic impact in a scientifically rigorous way. The extensive research programme that the Foundation decided to begin included the analysis of both direct and indirect economically relevant costs generated by Mafia-type organisations, as well as other types of illegality. Three types of costs are considered: those related to the anticipation and prevention of criminal acts; those resulting from being actually affected by a crime; and the costs of response to crime, including those related to the activity of the police, the judiciary etc. The special issue of Global Crime hosts some of the writings originally published in Italian in the book on the costs of extortions in Campania.
