Jobs and Punishment: Public Opinion on Leniency for White-Collar Crime.

ABSTRACT: Governments routinely offer deals to companies accused of white-collar crimes, allowing them to escape criminal charges in exchange for fines or penalties. This lets prosecutors avoid costly litigation and protects companies' right to bid on lucrative public contracts, which can reduce the likelihood of bankruptcies or layoffs. Striking deals with white-collar criminals can be risky for governments because it could affect the perceived legitimacy of the legal system. This article explores the conditions under which the general public supports leniency agreements. Building on theoretical intuitions from the literature, we identify three characteristics that could affect mass attitudes: home bias, economic incentives, and retribution. We conduct a survey experiment in the United States and f

SUBMITTER: St-Georges S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10615619 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature