Global Engagements Giuseppe De Feo MIT (2)

The main objective of this research visiting was to work at MIT in contact with Professor Daron Acemoglu on a research project on the political economy of organized crime, and to broaden the engagement with MIT in the area energy policy, technology and innovation.
The planned activities included:
1. to work on a first draft of the paper on the origins of the Sicilian mafia in the late 19th century using data recently collected with the financial support of MIT;
2. to work on a research grant proposal together with professor Acemoglu and dr. Giacomo De Luca (York);
3. to contribute to expand Strathclyde engagement with MIT by contacting researchers at the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, and the MIT energy initiative;

Outcomes / Next Steps
1) The first outcome has been a research paper focuses on the role of criminal organizations in the dynamics of social conflicts in weakly institutionalized setting. During the visit we had the opportunity to work on data recently collected in Sicily with the financial support of MIT. An early draft of the work has been finalized and it has been presented already in a seminar and a workshop during the summer. (see PURE record on Mafia, Social Conflict and State Capacity)
2) During my visiting period in Cambridge I had the opportunity to meet with other researchers active in the field, including Harvard professor Alberto Alesina. I finalized and submitted a session proposal on the economics of organized crime at the Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association, which includes our research work. My proposal has been accepted and I will present our research work during a dedicated session at the American Economic Association meeting, which will take place in Chicago in January 2017. (see PURE record on conference organization at the American Economic Association annual meeting 2017)
3) During the research visit we finalized the submission of a research grant application to ESRC on Mafia, Institutional Development and Migration. (see PURE record for the research application on the Project titled "Mafia, institutional development and migration")
4) During the visit I had the opportunity to contact dr. Sergey Paltsev, a Senior Research Scientist at MIT Energy Initiative which shares a common research interest with the Strathclyde Centre for Energy Policy on carbon capture and storage technologies. Following indications from Professor Karen Turner, I introduced the Strathclyde CEP to him and some colleagues of his team at MIT. There are plan in place to develop this collaboration further.
The next steps include:
1. The finalization for publication of the paper on “Mafia, Social Conflict and State Capacity”;
2. The extension of the research engagement with Daron Acemoglu on further project on institutional economics and organized crime;
3. The development of the research project submitted to ESRC on Mafia, Institutional Development, and Migration.

Awarded £3,350 from the GEF