ABSTRACT

In previous chapters we have focused on for-profit entrepreneurship but another area of life in which we find some highly ‘entrepreneurial’ activity is organized crime or antisocial enterprise. From Somali pirates to the activities of the Mafia or the Yakuza, organized crime has become a feature of every world economy and has been estimated to be a $2 trillion industry worldwide, roughly the equivalent of the annual GDP of the UK, or twice global defence spending. Of this the World Federation of United Nations Associations estimated in 2007 that the largest sector, estimated at around $520 billion, is counterfeit or pirated goods; drug trading accounts for an estimated $320 billion with human trafficking a further $44 billion (Borger, 2007).