Matteo Sandi (Catholic University of Milan)
Monica Langella and Antonio Martuscelli
This paper examines the long-term economic consequences of early childhood exposure to organized crime. Linking detailed data on Italian homicides in 19811992 with administrative records of labour market trajectories 30 years later, we show that exposure to mafia-related and terror-related killings in utero or early childhood significantly lowers earnings and full-time employment at age 30. The effect is driven by reduced educational attainment, revealing a novel insight on how organized violence hinders human capital accumulation. These findings highlight a previously underexplored channel through which organized crime perpetuates poverty and spatial inequality.