Economic crime and illegal markets integration: a platform for analysis

Purpose - The conventional wisdom regarding economic crime analysis has so far mainly focused upon “structural” issues. The field has been analysed mostly under the organisational aspect (how criminals organisations are structured, how illicit activities they perform are organised). Attention has been paid to “methods” – more in terms of case‐studies and search of “models” than in terms of opportunities dynamics – rather than to the economic profile (what are the special features of markets, supply, demand, production and distribution of illicit goods and services). It seems useful to increase the analysis by opening the quest to economic and sociologic aspects. The paper is an attempt to introduce a wider conceptual framework for a complementary approach, and a proposal aimed at deepening some focal points. Design/methodology/approach - Illegal economic activity is – not less than the legal one – a process of making choices among the alternatives available, for the aim of achieving a profit. It is therefore intrinsically an open, flexible activity, which may assume all the schemes and formulas that contingency suggests. In this perspective, the paper addresses observation and analysis towards detecting features and mechanisms of illegal economy market in a market approach, trying to give account thereby of structure and functioning processes of economic crime. Findings - A crucial element resides in the possibility of gathering wider information on the structure and internal dynamics of grey economy. Grey markets may indeed provide supporting structures like optional channels, instruments, or professional expertise, which show fungible for different legal or illegal goals. The goal of preserving the system from the threatens of economic crime must be rooted in an adequate knowledge of the internal operational dynamics of the system itself. Equipping more proactive instruments becomes essential. There is a need for awareness of the trends taking place in the markets: their causes, the alternative option they may grant to illegal players, the probable choice these players will consequently make, and the final effect of such choice on the system. It is necessary to gain the capability to foresee, anticipate and influence behaviour changes. Originality/value - The paper offers a contribution to more robust methodology for confronting systemic issues.