Local governments suspected of Mafia infiltration can be dismissed in Italy through an administrative act not increasing formal deterrence but potentially signaling improved law enforcement among local communities. This paper finds that dismissals are associated to a persistent fall of petty crimes (e.g. thefts) but have little consequences on offenses more closely related to the activity of organized crime, as homicide, extortion, drug-trafficking or usury. Petty crimes are estimated to fall by around 10%, on average, a result that seems driven by the perception of enhanced deterrence (through media pressure, the signaling role of the policy, and other forms of social control) rather than induced by organized crime itself.

中文翻译：

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执法，社会控制和有组织犯罪：意大利地方政府解雇的证据

在意大利，可以通过一项行政措施解雇涉嫌黑手党渗透的地方政府，这不会增加正式的威慑力，但有可能预示着当地社区执法的改善。本文发现，解雇与轻罪（如盗窃）的持续下降有关，但对与有组织犯罪活动更紧密相关的犯罪（如杀人，勒索，贩运毒品或高利贷）影响不大。据估计，轻微犯罪平均下降了10％左右，其结果似乎是由于人们对威慑力的增强（通过媒体压力，政策的信号作用以及其他形式的社会控制）而引起的，而不是由有组织犯罪引起的本身。