Measuring loan-sharking in the Italian tourism sector in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic using the item count technique

This paper introduces a novel survey instrument using the item count technique to measure the prevalence of loan-sharking among Italian tourism businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The item count technique—also known as a list experiment—is a survey-based experimental technique designed to measure sensitive topics. The tourism sector was chosen because travel restrictions imposed to curb the pandemic are likely to have caused disproportionate economic strain on these businesses, making them more vulnerable to loan-sharking. We present the structure, design, and rationale of the instrument and discuss the findings of an exploratory pilot study conducted with a convenience sample of more than 6000 Italian tourism businesses. Our findings suggest that the questionnaire is a potentially valid instrument to measure loan-sharking, though the pilot study should be followed by a large-scale study using random sampling to improve the statistical validity of the findings.