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White-Collar and Corporate Crime

This area studies crimes committed by persons of respectability and organizations in the course of their occupations — white-collar and corporate crime.

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Scope

It covers occupational and corporate crime, fraud and corruption, regulatory offences, and the challenges of controlling elite and organizational wrongdoing.

Core questions

  • What is white-collar crime and why is it distinctive?
  • How do organizations commit crime?
  • Why is elite crime under-punished?
  • How can corporate wrongdoing be controlled?

Key concepts

  • White-collar crime
  • Corporate crime
  • Occupational crime
  • Fraud
  • Regulatory offences
  • Differential association

Key theories

White-collar crime
Sutherland defined and legitimized the study of crime by respectable people in their occupations.

History

Sutherland's concept of white-collar crime (1940, 1949) opened the study of elite and corporate wrongdoing, developed through work on corporate, financial, and state-corporate crime.

Debates

Is white-collar crime 'real' crime?
Debate over treating regulatory and occupational offences as crime and punishing them accordingly.

Key figures

  • Edwin Sutherland

Related topics

Seminal works

  • sutherland-1940
  • sutherland-1949

Frequently asked questions

What is white-collar crime?
Crime committed by persons of high social status and respectability in the course of their occupations (Sutherland).

Methods for this concept

Related concepts