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Crime and CorruptionRemove Crime and Corruption →

New research on crime and corruption from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including white-collar crime, political corruption, and questionable organizational decisions.
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Lifting the Lid on Turkey's Hidden Business History

by Sean Silverthorne

The business history of modern Turkey has been largely hidden from view, but a new book edited by Geoffrey Jones and Asli M. Colpan pulls back the covers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Does Facebook's Business Model Threaten Our Elections?

by George Riedel

America's 2016 presidential election was the target of voter manipulation via social media, particularly on Facebook. George Riedel thinks history is about to repeat itself. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Ethics Bots and Other Ways to Move Your Code of Business Conduct Beyond Puffery

by Michael Blanding

Digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics allow companies to create more effective codes of business conduct, says Eugene Soltes. But technology isn't the only solution. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Formal Employment and Organized Crime: Regression Discontinuity Evidence from Colombia

by Gaurav Khanna, Carlos Medina, Anant Nyshadham, and Jorge Tamayo

Using data from Colombia’s second-largest city, Medellín, this study tests the relationship between formal employment and participation in crime at the individual level. Among the findings, subsidies for health care had the unintended consequence of amplifying gang activity. Results shed light on deterring criminality through improving access to formal sector employment.

Strict ID Laws Don’t Stop Voters: Evidence from a U.S. Nationwide Panel, 2008–2016

by Enrico Cantoni and Vincent Pons

Evidence on the consequences of strict ID laws adopted between 2008 and 2016 shows no significant negative effect on registration or turnout overall or for any subgroup defined by age, gender, race, or party affiliation. ID requirements had no significant effect on actual or perceived fraud, either.

Voter ID Laws Don't Work (But They Don't Hurt Anything, Either)

by Sean Silverthorne

Voter ID laws are often proposed as an antidote to election fraud. There's just one problem, according to Vincent Pons. They don't work. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

When Harry Fired Sally: The Double Standard in Punishing Misconduct

by Mark Egan, Gregor Matvos, and Amit Seru

Despite committing misconduct less often and less severely than men, female advisers in the financial adviser industry face more severe punishment in the labor market, a finding strongly correlated with the gender composition of the managerial team. A similar punishment gap and mitigating factors affect ethnic minority men.

Corruption, Government Subsidies, and Innovation: Evidence from China

by Lily Fang, Josh Lerner, Chaopeng Wu, and Qi Zhang

Governments subsidize a growing number of innovation efforts, many of which may face the challenge of corruption. Using Chinese data, this study finds corruption-related distortions in government R&D subsidies, which diminished after the 2012 anti-corruption campaign and rotation of provincial officials. It provide insights for designing effective R&D subsidy programs.

Two Million Fake Accounts: Sales Misconduct at Wells Fargo

Re: Suraj Srinivasan

Coming out of the financial crisis, Wells Fargo was one of the world’s most successful banks. But then its sales culture went wild, opening more than 2 million fake accounts. Suraj Srinivasan discusses what went wrong. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Why Ethical People Become Unethical Negotiators

by Dina Gerdeman

You may think you are an ethical person, but self-interest can cloud your judgment when you sit down at the bargaining table, says Max Bazerman. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Working for a Shamed Company Can Hurt Your Future Compensation

by Michael Blanding

People who work for a company guilty of malfeasance may see their future compensation curtailed, even if they are guilty of nothing, according to research by Boris Groysberg, Eric Lin, and George Serafeim. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The Startling Percentage of Financial Advisors with Misconduct Records

by Michael Blanding

One in twelve financial advisors have been disciplined for serious misconduct, according to a recent study by finance professor Mark Egan and colleagues. The bad apples are rarely punished. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Does Financial Misconduct Affect the Future Compensation of Alumni Managers?

by Boris Groysberg, Eric Lin, and George Serafeim

Analyzing data from an executive search firm, this paper explains how former employees who are free from wrongdoing still pay a price in stigma after incidents of corporate financial misconduct. The finding is potentially disquieting for all managers, because it suggests that one’s human capital can be impaired even long after one moves on and suggests the need for developing a human capital strategy for reacting to misconduct of past employers.

Handgun Waiting Periods Prevent Hundreds of Homicides Each Year

by Dina Gerdeman

Waiting-period laws reduce gun-related homicides by 17 percent and gun-related suicides by up to 11 percent, according to a study by Deepak Malhotra, Michael Luca, and Christopher Poliquin. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Could a Hackathon Help Solve the Heroin Crisis?

Re: Mitchell B. Weiss

What’s the value of crowdsourcing technological solutions to societal problems? Could a hackathon help solve the heroin crisis in Cincinnati, Ohio? Mitch Weiss discusses a recent case study. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

What Are the Real Lessons of the Wells Fargo Case?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP James Heskett's readers identify key failures in Wells Fargo's culture and leadership. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Crime and Violence: Desensitization in Victims to Watching Criminal Events

by Rafael Di Tella, Lucia Freira, Ramiro H. Gálvez, Ernesto Schargrodsky, Diego Shalom, and Mariano Sigman

Findings from an experiment show that victims of crimes become desensitized to violence in biological and cognitive ways. These results may help explain a troubling contradiction in Latin America: rising crime along with decreasing public concern about it. As the rate of crime victimization increases, a larger group of the population shares this increased desensitization.

Are Stockbrokers Illegally Leaking Confidential Information to Favored Clients?

by Carmen Nobel

New research by Marco Di Maggio reveals stockbroker behavior that is probably illegal, definitely underregulated, and arguably influential in the day-to-day operations of the stock market. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Meet the Oligarchs: Business Legitimacy, State Capacity and Taxation

by Rafael Di Tella, Juan Dubra, and Alejandro Lagomarsino

What role do people’s beliefs about the rich play in the determination of public policy? This study focuses on three policy domains: public-private sector meetings (assumed to be an important determinant of state capacity), demand for taxation of the top 1 percent, and business regulation. Results overall suggest that trust in business and government operate differently in people’s mind. While business legitimacy leads to a lower demand for regulation, this is not so clear-cut for trust in government.

Target's Expensive Cybersecurity Mistake

Re: Suraj Srinivasan

Professor Suraj Srinivasan explores one of the largest cyber breaches in history, analyzing why failures happen, who should be held accountable, and how preventing them is both a technical problem and a matter of organizational design. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.