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- Faculty Publications (293)
Crime
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- January 2011 (Revised August 2011)
- Supplement
Kanebo Ltd. (C)
By: David F. Hawkins, Suraj Srinivasan and Akiko Kanno
The exposure of the Kanebo Ltd. fraud raises questions of Japan's preparedness to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards. View Details
- 2011
- Article
Free to Punish? The American Dream and the Harsh Treatment of Criminals
By: Rafael Di Tella
We describe the evolution of selective aspects of punishment in the U.S. over the period 1980-2004. We note that imprisonment increased around 1980, a period that coincides with the "Reagan revolution" in economic matters. We build an economic model where beliefs about... View Details
Keywords: Crime and Corruption
- 2010
- Working Paper
Lawful but Corrupt: Gaming and the Problem of Institutional Corruption in the Private Sector
This paper describes how the gaming of society's rules by corporations contributes to the problem of institutional corruption in the world of business. "Gaming" in its various forms involves the use of technically legal means to subvert the intent of society's rules in... View Details
- October 2010 (Revised May 2012)
- Background Note
Reverse Engineering, Learning, and Innovation
By: Willy C. Shih
This background reading looks at reverse engineering in the context of piracy and knock-offs in emerging markets like China. It first considers legal aspects of reverse engineering in strong property rights regimes like the United States as a way of unpacking the legal... View Details
- 2010
- Chapter
Crime Distribution and Victim Behavior during a Crime Wave
By: Rafael Di Tella, Sebastian Galiani and Ernesto Schargrodsky
The study of how crime affects different income groups faces the difficulty that crime-avoiding activities vary across these groups. Thus, a lower victimization rate in one group may not reflect a lower burden of crime, but rather a higher investment in crime... View Details
- 2010
- Book
The Economics of Crime: Lessons for and from Latin America
By: Rafael Di Tella, Sebastian Edwards and Ernesto Schargrodsky
- April 2010 (Revised October 2010)
- Case
The International Criminal Court
By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Natalie Kindred
This Case describes a controversial 2010 decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and alludes to some of the broader challenges of building international institutions. The case briefly highlights certain milestones in international relations preceding the... View Details
- March 2010 (Revised December 2010)
- Case
The Market for Prisoners: Business, Crime and Punishment in the "American Dream"
By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Laura Winig
In 2010, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest private prison operator in the U.S., was considering expansion options. The company's largest customers, federal and state governments, were under economic pressure to reduce the incarceration rate and... View Details
- December 2009 (Revised January 2024)
- Case
A Letter from Prison
By: Eugene Soltes
Stephen Richards, the former global head of sales at Computer Associates, Inc. (CA), is serving a seven-year prison sentence for financial fraud. In the case, Richards responds to a number of questions about managerial responsibility and the manipulation of financial... View Details
- October 2009 (Revised February 2010)
- Case
Wiwa v. Royal Dutch/Shell
By: Lynn S. Paine and Lara Adamsons
On the eve of trial, and after nearly 14 years of pre-trial litigation, the parties in Wiwa v. Royal Dutch/Shell jointly announced that the four U.S. lawsuits stemming from the execution of the Ogoni Nine in 1995 had been settled. View Details
- September 8, 2009
- Article
The New Governance Paradigm
By: Nathaniel Foote and Michael Beer
Boards members of failed banks in 2008 or of the many companies like Enron who were caught up in scandals are by and large honorable, well intentioned, and competent people. So what went wrong and what can be done about it. This article argues that the problem lies in... View Details
- April 2009 (Revised June 2020)
- Case
Al Capone
By: Tom Nicholas and David Chen
In 1929, Chicago, IL mob boss Al Capone was at the height of his power. As head of the extensive crime organization known as "The Outfit" during most of U.S.'s Prohibition Era (1920-1933), Capone oversaw hundreds of brothels, speakeasies, and roadhouses which served as... View Details
- Article
Why Doesn't Capitalism Flow to Poor Countries?
By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch
We show that capitalism is far from common around the world. Outside a small group of rich countries, heavy regulation of business, leftist rhetoric, and interventionist beliefs flourish. We relate these phenomena to the presence of corruption, with causality running... View Details
- February 2009 (Revised September 2011)
- Background Note
Business and Human Rights
By: Lynn S. Paine and Lara Adamsons
This note addresses some of the most frequently asked questions about the relation between human rights and business. Topics include the definition of human rights, the business leader's role regarding human rights, and legal liability of companies and executives for... View Details
- November 2008 (Revised November 2024)
- Case
The Fall of Enron
By: Paul Healy and Krishna Palepu
The case traces the rise of Enron, covering the company's business innovations, personnel management, and risk management processes. It then examines the company's dramatic fall including the extension of its trading model into questionable new businesses, the... View Details
- October 2008
- Article
Choosing Agents and Monitoring Consumption: A Note on Wealth as a Corruption-Controlling-Device
By: Rafael Di Tella and Federico Weinschelbaum
- July 2008 (Revised June 2012)
- Case
Corruption in Germany
By: Rawi E. Abdelal, Rafael Di Tella and Jonathan Schlefer
Why do managers become corrupt? Does corruption ever pay? When do friendly relations cross into bribery? How can CEOs manage and prevent outbreaks of corruption? These and other questions are raised by three short case studies of corruption in Germany: at the global... View Details
- July 2008
- Article
Crime and Punishment in the 'American Dream'
By: Rafael Di Tella and Juan Dubra
We observe that countries where belief in the "American dream" (i.e., effort pays) prevails also set harsher punishment for criminals. We know that beliefs are also correlated with several features of the economic system (taxation, social insurance, etc). Our objective... View Details
- June 2008 (Revised January 2012)
- Background Note
Solving a Problem or Sounding the Alarm? Guidelines on Blowing the Whistle
By: Lynn S. Paine and Lara Adamsons
Many of us will at some point in our professional lives encounter situations involving what we believe to be wrongful or injurious activities that may cause harm to innocent parties, our company, or the public. It may be necessary to bring the matter to the attention... View Details