Institutional structures that permit wrongdoing produce criminogenic environments
Evidence
Story and Morgenson (2011a) provide a detailed account of how widespread machinations caused the economic debacle without anyone’s feeling accountable for it. They cite William Black, a law professor who directed litigation during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. He called the existing atmosphere a “criminogenic environment.” He contrasted the vigorous litigation of the savings and loan transgressions with the lethargic federal response to the global economic catastrophe: “There were no criminal referrals from the regulators. No fraud working groups. No national task force. There has been no effective punishment of the elites here.” — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1556
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims
- DEFINE: Introduces the concept of a ‘criminogenic environment’ — an atmosphere that generates crime because consequences are absent.
- SHARE: The ‘criminogenic environment’ quote contrasting 1980s S&L prosecution with the unpunished elites of 2008 would land well with someone tracking regulatory history.