NCJ Number
138535
Journal
Criminology Volume: 30 Issue: 3 Dated: (1992) Pages: 347-396
Date Published
1992
Length
50 pages
Annotation
Event history analysis was used to examine the recidivism patterns of of 38 corporations charged with one or more serious antitrust violations between 1928 and 1981 to determine whether experience with penalties decreases the likelihood of a firm's reoffending.
Abstract
The research focused on the effects of procedure type (e.g., civil, criminal, and administrative redress) and proxy measures of corporate deterrence while controlling for changes in antitrust law and the economic conditions of the company, industry, and general economy. Although results were not robust, they provided some indications that past guilty verdicts and changes in penalties for lawbreaking from misdemeanors to felonies reduce recidivism. However, industry characteristics had a much stronger effect on future illegality than did the risk or consequence of formal punishment. Findings indicated that focusing solely on detecting and punishing more offenders is an incomplete response to the problem of corporate crime. Tables, footnotes, appended list of corporations and methodological information, and 53 references