3. Testing the Limits of Private Protection, 1917-1939

2019 ◽  
pp. 60-88
Keyword(s):  
2005 ◽  
pp. 4-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Sonin

In unequal societies, the rich may benefit from shaping economic institutions in their favor. This paper analyzes the dynamics of institutional subversion by focusing on public protection of property rights. If this institution functions imperfectly, agents have incentives to invest in private protection of property rights. The ability to maintain private protection systems makes the rich natural opponents of public protection of property rights and precludes grass-roots demand to drive the development of the market-friendly institution. The economy becomes stuck in a bad equilibrium with low growth rates, high inequality of income, and wide-spread rent-seeking. The Russian oligarchs of the 1990s, who controlled large stakes of newly privatized property, provide motivation for this paper.


2001 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 186-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Varese

It is difficult to discuss a phenomenon when one does not know precisely what it is. This problem is particularly vexing in the case of the Mafia. It has been argued that ‘the need for a definition [of the Mafia] is crucial; not just for any definition with some degree of contingent empirical plausibility, but for a definition with some analytical clout’ (1). The word ‘Mafia’ itself has travelled far to distant lands, such as the former Soviet Union. For instance, according to Arkadii Vaksberg, Russian journalist and author of The Russian Mafia, the Mafia is ‘the entire soviet power-system, all its ideological, political, economical and administrative manifestations’ (2). In an article published in a magazine for British executives dealing with Russia, the label Mafiosi is used to lump together bureaucrats, smugglers from the Caucasus, the CPSU nomenklatura accused of embezzling state funds, the late British businessman Robert Maxwell and many others (3).


1994 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Varese

It is difficult to discuss a phenomenon when one does not know precisely what it is. This problem is particularly vexing in the case of the Mafia. It has been argued that ‘the need for a definition [of the Mafia] is crucial; not just for any definition with some degree of contingent empirical plausibility, but for a definition with some analytical clout’. The word ‘Mafia’ itself has travelled far to distant lands, such as the former Soviet Union. For instance, according to Arkadii Vaksberg, Russian journalist and author of The Russian Mafia, the Mafia is ‘the entire soviet power-system, all its ideological, political, economical and administrative manifestations’. In an article published in a magazine for British executives dealing with Russia, the label Mafiosi is used to lump together bureaucrats, smugglers from the Caucasus, the cpsunomenklatura accused of embezzling state funds, the late British businessman Robert Maxwell and many others.


Significance Another body, found on March 15, is believed to be that of a policeman but is yet to be identified. Since early 2015, murder rates have soared, with police officers in particular targeted. Meanwhile, gangs have become more organised, and extortionist practices have increased. Hardline 'mano dura' approaches to crime are doing little to improve security. The leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) government of President Salvador Sanchez Ceren has rejected calls for a renewed gang truce, instead responding to the violence with increased militarisation and the possible introduction of emergency security measures that could potentially exacerbate crime while constraining public freedoms. Impacts Extortion, which traditionally affected mainly small and medium-sized businesses, will increasingly affect larger companies. Poor security will incur costs for firms which will increasingly require private protection or be forced temporarily to cease activities. As criticism of the FMLN intensifies, internal divisions may grow and the party may struggle to govern effectively.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly L Faulk ◽  
Ken Fucik ◽  
Ole Varmer ◽  
Shelley Wachsmann
Keyword(s):  

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