The Chicken, the Egg, and the Rooster: Vicious Circles Among Corruption, Organized Crime, and Money Laundering

Do organized crime groups corrupt government, or does a corrupt government open the door to organized crime? Does a lax anti-money laundering environment facilitate both, or do these phenomena contribute to such an environment? While these are often described as vicious circles, and indeed there are feedback loops, prevention requires a better understanding of these dynamics. This empirical study attempts to untangle cause and effect among corruption, organized crime (including several sub-indices from the Organized Crime Index), and money laundering.