Chair in the Economic Analysis of Crime
Chair Holder: Paolo Pinotti
Paolo Pinotti is Dean of the Faculty, Full Professor of Economics and Endowed Chair in Economic Analysis of Crime at the Department of Policy Analysis and Public Management. He directs the CLEAN Unit on the economics of crime at the Baffi-Carefin Center and is also coordinator of Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti and researcher at Dondena. Before joining Bocconi, he obtained a Ph.D. in economics from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in 2009 and worked at the research department of the Bank of Italy from 2007 to 2011.
Joint Purpose
The Chair in Economic Analysis of Crime is the result of the collaboration between Bocconi University and an anonymous donor that significantly contributed to the research activities of the Research Unit "Crime: Law and Economic Analysis" (CLEAN), which now comprises over ten researchers and many more research fellows. The Chair and the CLEAN unit investigate the causes and consequences of crime, focusing in particular on corruption, white collar crimes, and organized crime. Research is applied and policy-oriented, and it is conducted in collaboration with enforcement authorities.
Core Activities
Research
The Endowed Chair in Economic Analysis of Crime and the CLEAN unit promote evidence-based, policy-oriented research on organized crime and political corruption. These two phenomena are intimately related, as the economic and military power of criminal organizations allows them to corrupt and threaten politicians and public officials. In addition, criminal organizations engage in complex illicit businesses such as drug trafficking and infiltration of legitimate economic activities, which cause large economic costs in Italy and in many other areas of the World. In line with Bocconi’s commitment to excellence in research, the Endowed Chair and the CLEAN unit investigate these phenomena employing big data and frontier quantitative methods.
Dissemination
Research by the Endowed Chair and the CLEAN unit is regularly published in leading scientific journals and presented in prestigious seminar series and workshops around the World. Prof. Pinotti and all researchers at CLEAN work in close collaboration with policy makers and they are involved in several policy initiatives aimed at preventing and combating crime. The main results of this research activity also received significant media coverage.