Corruption is a problem in entire Italy not only in the south. It has to do with their mentality! It's how they are.
My mother is from South Italy. The organized criminality do harm the economy in South Italy. There is no investor who wants to invest in a new
waste incinerating plant, because they fear of the Camorra, that's why! The result is Napoli has a big waste problem.
Of course if you would build a factory in Calabria, you would have workers who are missing at work a lot of time, but a bigger issue are the
’Ndrangheta! You have to pay to them that you can have there your factory. And from time to time they want to have more money from you, otherwise you get trouble with them.
Mafia= cancer