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The Determinants of Employee Crime in the UK

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  • NEIL RICKMAN
  • ROBERT WITT

Abstract

We present evidence on employee theft in the UK using data on actual recorded crime, in a model where employees are ‘rational cheaters’ whose theft decisions may also be influenced by individual characteristics. We produce hypotheses about the role of labour market deterrence and individual influences on employee theft. We then examine the role of these influences using regional crime data supplemented by data from the UK Labour Force Survey and the Home Office. Our results provide information on employee theft as a particular type of crime, on policy that may help to combat it, and on alternative views of the motivation for crime.

Suggested Citation

  • Neil Rickman & Robert Witt, 2007. "The Determinants of Employee Crime in the UK," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 74(293), pages 161-175, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:econom:v:74:y:2007:i:293:p:161-175
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0335.2006.00530.x
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Seeun Jung & Kenneth Houngbedji, 2014. "Shirking, Monitoring, and Risk Aversion," Working Papers halshs-00965532, HAL.
    2. Cadsby C. Bram & Song Fei & Tapon Francis, 2010. "Are You Paying Your Employees to Cheat? An Experimental Investigation," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-32, April.
    3. Garmaise, Mark J. & Moskowitz, Tobias J., 2005. "Bank Mergers and Crime: The Real and Social Effects of Credit Market Competition," Working Papers 202, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    4. Seeun JUNG, 2014. "Risk Attitudes and Shirking on the Quality of Work under Monitoring: Evidence from a Real-Effort Task Experiment," THEMA Working Papers 2014-26, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    5. Mark J. Garmaise & Tobias J. Moskowitz, 2004. "Bank Mergers and Crime: The Real and Social Effects of Credit Market Competition," NBER Working Papers 11006, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Anna Rita Germani & Antonio Pergolizzi & Filippo Reganati, 2015. "Law Enforcement and Illegal Trafficking of Waste: Evidence from Italy," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(4), pages 2673-2684.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • M5 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics

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