Poor Institutions, Rich Mines: Resource Curse in the Origins of the Sicilian Mafia
研究了20世纪西西里岛在法律制度薄弱、硫磺需求激增的背景下，黑手党型组织如何因资源价值上升而兴起，对理解资源诅咒与制度关系有参考价值。
With weak law-enforcement institutions, a positive shock to the value of natural resources may increase demand for private protection and opportunities for rent appropriation through extortion, favouring the emergence of mafia-type organisations. We test this hypothesis by investigating the emergence of the mafia in twentieth century Sicily, where a severe lack of state property-rights enforcement coincided with a steep rise in international demand for sulphur, Sicily's most valuable export commodity. Using historical data on the early incidence of mafia activity and on the distribution of sulphur reserves, we document that the mafia was more present in municipalities with greater sulphur availability.