Italy’s economy shrank by almost 5% last year.

However, one Italian-based international business defied the trend and posted, unofficially of course, an 8% increase in profit.

That business is the Mafia.

For many years, Cosa Nostra has been suffering from declining market share as their traditional approach to organised crime has been superseded by the more direct methods of aggressive new competitors.

However, the underworld sector as a whole has flourished recently, partly as a result of official policies. While most sensible folk would rather live without the increased probability of premature death in this world and eternal punishment in the next, it cannot be denied that the hood does have some competitive advantages over the legitimate entrepreneur.

1   High taxes and tight regulation always benefit criminals – because they ignore them. This enables them to undercut the law-abiding, and the ability to provide cheaper goods and services is particularly attractive to consumers in recession.

2   Credit where it is due, many – but by no means all – criminals have an impressive “work ethic”. The irony is that this might have made them very successful in mainstream business. Yet it is the very fact that there is no safety net in the underworld that forces them to be enterprising and to work hard if they are to survive. 

3   Demand for many of the products and services in which organised crime specialises remains constant, even in recession. Indeed, demand for loan-sharking and some types of narcotic may increase as people become more desperate.

4   The public sector is obsessed with management by target. Since it is easier for law enforcement to prosecute ten co-operative law-abiding businesses for minor offences than to chase one slippery gangster, the authorities tend to go after the easy option – us – to improve their statistics.