Working Paper: Meier, Stephan, Lamar Pierce, and Antonino Vaccaro. Trust and Parochialism in a Culture of Crime. Working Paper, 2013. Presented on Feb. 20, 2013

1. by Stephan Meier, Lamar Pierce & Antonio Vaccaro
Presentation: Michael Kirmes
Music: Ennio Morricone & Nino Rota

2. • Gambetta 1996: The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private
Protection
• Lack of interpersonal trust across society critically tied to the
foundation of organized crime
• Mafia acts as intermediary in a society to facilitate transactions
• Protects interests of its clientele, „insurance“

3. • Gambetta 1996: The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private
Protection
• Lack of interpersonal trust across society critically tied to the
foundation of organized crime
• Mafia acts as intermediary in a society to facilitate transactions
• Protects interests of its clientele, „insurance“
• Since there are no legal remedies, trust is on the other hand
critical to the efficient functioning of the organization
(Baccara & Bar-Isaac 2008)

4. • PAROCHIALISM means being provincial,
being narrow in scope, or considering
only small sections of an issue.

5. • PAROCHIALISM means being provincial,
being narrow in scope, or considering
only small sections of an issue.
• In this study: in-group bias
• „‘Cosa nostra’ … means that the thing
is ours, not yours; it stresses
inclusion, and inclusion can only
subsist by simultaneously postulating
exclusion.“ (Gambetta 1988)

6. • Two schools in area of Palermo that is a Mafia stronghold
• Third, larger school in area with lower mafia involvement

7. • Two schools in area of Palermo that is a Mafia stronghold
• Third, larger school in area with lower Mafia involvement
• 460 participants (23 classes) between 15 and 19
• Substantial differences in attitudes and exposure to
organized crime
• Demographics, spending
money, grades: similar

8. • Two treatments, known to subjects (?)
• in-group (same class)
• out-group (different class)
• Four different games:
1. Dictator game
2. Trust game
3. Prisoner‘s dilemma
4. Prisoner‘s dilemma with third-party
punishment

9. X
p
1-p
p
( )

10. ( )
X
p
Y
r
1-p+r
1+p-r
X
p
1-p
p
( )

11. X/Y Keep Pass
Keep 1;1 3;0
Pass 0;3 2;2

12. X/Y Keep Pass
Keep 1;1 3;0
Pass 0;3 2;2
Third player decides how strongly to punish defectors before played as above
• Endowed with 0.90 Euro
• Spent amount is doubly subtracted from punished player

13. 0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
Trust Trustworth. Altruism
High Mafia Low Mafia
-0.3
-0.2
-0.1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
Trust Trustworth. Altruism
in-group transfers – out-group transfers
PAROCHIALISM

14. 0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
No Enforcer Enforcer
High Mafia Low Mafia
-0.3
-0.2
-0.1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
No Enforcer Enforcer
in-group – out-group cooperation
PAROCHIALISM

15. • Informal institutions (like organized crime) can
play a major role in forming parochial favoritism,
hindering efficient pro-social behavior
• Similar to religion by facilitating interaction and
fairness within the group, but focuses away from
society.
• Overpowers other cultural commonalities
(language, religion, nation)

16. • Random Rematching?
• No hypotheses before conducting experiment
• Strange choice of diagrams in PD
• Why are school classes relevant groups?
• Why do non-mafia schools have outgroup-bias?

17. –
Friend of Ours: An introduction in which one
Mafia member informs another that a new acquaintance is
also a member. It is a means of vouching for the underworld
credentials of another person. As opposed to "friend of
mine," which, in introduction, means simply what it says.
Cosa Nostra: Italian for "this thing of ours," "our
thing," a mob family, the Mafia.
Mark: A person or place targeted for criminal activity.
Men of Honor: An older term referring to Sicilian
Mafiosi. The term emphasizes a link between the Mafia and
Sicily's displaced old aristocracy.
Pinched: To get caught by the cops, arrested.
Clip: To kill. See also whack, hit, pop, burn, put a
contract out. Also: to harm in some way. ("Jimmy clipped
me of 5 G's.")
Giving a Pass: To grant a reprieve from being
whacked. Usage: "Stayin StatenIsland, lay low, and I will
give you a pass."--Gravano.
Eating Alone: To keep for one's self; to be greedy.
Take a Walk: To conduct a sensitive discussion while
striding up and down the block to avoid being overheard on
those pesky eavesdropping devices. Usage: "Sammy tells me
you and him took a walk about a concrete plant in New
Jersey."--Gotti.
On the Carpet: The situation that occurs when a
made guy's performance is harshly criticized by his superior.