James F. Gilsinan, James E. Fisher, Muhammad Islam, Henry M. Ordower and Wassim Shahin
The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of various policy options for curbing the accumulation of illegal wealth and suggest ways to close the increasing wealth…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of various policy options for curbing the accumulation of illegal wealth and suggest ways to close the increasing wealth inequality gap.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper begins with a historical/literary analysis of the place of wealth in American Society and the ambivalent cultural attitudes toward wealth. Different policy approaches that seek to limit wealth inequality and the illegal accumulation of wealth are then examined. Finally, the current policy climate in the USA is reviewed to determine the likelihood of meaningful reform.
Findings
In Europe, the BASEL accords show promise for curbing the illegal accumulation of wealth by politically exposed persons. In the USA, tax reform efforts can close the wealth gap, but the current political landscape makes meaningful reform challenging particularly given the increasing use of “dark” money to influence elections.
Research limitations/implications
Because financial reform is a moving target in both Europe and the USA, subject to the ebb and flow of political forces, it is difficult to predict what major reforms will be possible.
Practical implications
Without meaningful reform, an increase in populist movements can be expected (e.g. Brexit and Trump) with an overall, long-term negative impact on democratic capitalism.
Social implications
The wealth gap and the sense that the system is rigged against the common people will result in increasing political turmoil.
Originality/value
Combining literary/historical analysis with the analysis of current policy interventions provides a set of tools not usually used in the examination of financial crimes.
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James F. Gilsinan, James E. Fisher, Muhammad Q. Islam, Henry M. Ordower and Wassim Shahin
Efforts to combat corruption in society often seem to resemble a game of whack-a-mole. When dealt with in one sector of the society, it pops up in another, and while that is being…
Abstract
Purpose
Efforts to combat corruption in society often seem to resemble a game of whack-a-mole. When dealt with in one sector of the society, it pops up in another, and while that is being dealt with, it again raises its ugly head in the place where it had appeared to be suppressed. This paper aims to present a model of how corruption spreads based on an alternative view of its main components.
Design/methodology/approach
Key elements of the model are analyzed by applying them to particular examples of systemic ethical failures using a variety of mini cases across a number of policy areas.
Findings
Corruption is based on conformity rather than rule breaking. Furthermore, personal or corporate gains are not sufficient as causes of ethically problematic actions. More fundamentally, survival of the organizational enterprise is the driving force in spreading corrupt behavior.
Practical implications
This paper concludes with a discussion of the model’s efficacy for formulating legislative solutions for ethical lapses in a particular policy area. Again, a mini cases study is used to illustrate the main points of the argument.
Originality/value
Viewing systemic ethical failures through this alternative lens may well result in more effective ways to combat the spread of corrupt practices.
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James E. Fisher, Dennis E. Garrett, Mark J. Arnold and Mark E. Ferris
Very little prior research has analyzed the behavior of dissatisfied consumers who complain to the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Therefore, interviews were conducted with…
Abstract
Very little prior research has analyzed the behavior of dissatisfied consumers who complain to the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Therefore, interviews were conducted with dissatisfied consumers who filed complaints with the BBB against companies in three industries – auto dealers, dry cleaners, and home construction. The results reveal significant gaps between dissatisfied consumers’ resolution preferences and companies’ resolution offers. Further, the results highlight the highly negative word‐of‐mouth communication activity and repeat purchase intentions of dissatisfied consumers who complain to the BBB. Based on these data, complaint resolution recommendations are provided to improve customer service managers’ handling of dissatisfied consumers.
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This chapter investigates the nature of the transformation of macroeconomics by focusing on the impact of the Great Depression on economic doctrines. There is no doubt that the…
Abstract
This chapter investigates the nature of the transformation of macroeconomics by focusing on the impact of the Great Depression on economic doctrines. There is no doubt that the Great Depression exerted an enormous influence on economic thought, but the exact nature of its impact should be examined more carefully. In this chapter, I examine the transformation from a perspective which emphasizes the interaction between economic ideas and economic events, and the interaction between theory and policy rather than the development of economic theory. More specifically, I examine the evolution of what became known as macroeconomics after the Depression in terms of an ongoing debate among the “stabilizers” and their critics. I further suggest using four perspectives, or schools of thought, as measures to locate the evolution and transformation; the gold standard mentality, liquidationism, the Treasury view, and the real-bills doctrine. By highlighting these four economic ideas, I argue that what happened during the Great Depression was the retreat of the gold standard mentality, the complete demise of liquidationism and the Treasury view, and the strange survival of the real-bills doctrine. Each of those transformations happened not in response to internal debates in the discipline, but in response to government policies and real-world events.
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Sally R. Ross, Lynn L. Ridinger and Jacquelyn Cuneen
This study presents an analysis of the evolution of advertising's portrayal of women in motorsport. The construct of source credibility is examined and used as a framework to…
Abstract
This study presents an analysis of the evolution of advertising's portrayal of women in motorsport. The construct of source credibility is examined and used as a framework to better understand the limitations and opportunities of female athlete endorsers in general and female racing car drivers in particular. The advertising images of pioneer drivers Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James and Sarah Fisher are discussed and compared to that of Danica Patrick, a media star in the Indy Racing League (IRL). Patrick has been successful in capitalising on her expertise and attractiveness to enhance her image and endorse products. Attitudes towards using sex appeal to sell products are presented and discussed.
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Alexandra L. Ferrentino, Meghan L. Maliga, Richard A. Bernardi and Susan M. Bosco
This research provides accounting-ethics authors and administrators with a benchmark for accounting-ethics research. While Bernardi and Bean (2010) considered publications in…
Abstract
This research provides accounting-ethics authors and administrators with a benchmark for accounting-ethics research. While Bernardi and Bean (2010) considered publications in business-ethics and accounting’s top-40 journals this study considers research in eight accounting-ethics and public-interest journals, as well as, 34 business-ethics journals. We analyzed the contents of our 42 journals for the 25-year period between 1991 through 2015. This research documents the continued growth (Bernardi & Bean, 2007) of accounting-ethics research in both accounting-ethics and business-ethics journals. We provide data on the top-10 ethics authors in each doctoral year group, the top-50 ethics authors over the most recent 10, 20, and 25 years, and a distribution among ethics scholars for these periods. For the 25-year timeframe, our data indicate that only 665 (274) of the 5,125 accounting PhDs/DBAs (13.0% and 5.4% respectively) in Canada and the United States had authored or co-authored one (more than one) ethics article.
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The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and…
Abstract
The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.
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ANOTHER Annual Meeting has come and gone. It was scarcely to be expected that the meeting at Bradford would be a record in the number of members attending, seeing that it is only…
Abstract
ANOTHER Annual Meeting has come and gone. It was scarcely to be expected that the meeting at Bradford would be a record in the number of members attending, seeing that it is only three years ago since the Association met in the neighbouring city of Leeds, and that Bradford cannot boast either the historical associations or the architectural and scenic setting of many other towns. For the most part therefore the members who did attend, attended because they were interested in the serious rather than the entertainment or excursion side of the gathering, which was so far perhaps to the advantage of the meetings and discussions. Nevertheless, the actual number of those present—about two hundred—was quite satisfactory, and none, we are assured, even if the local functions were the main or an equal element of attraction, could possibly have regretted their visit to the metropolis of the worsted trade. Fortunately the weather was all that could be desired, and under the bright sunshine Bradford looked its best, many members, who expected doubtless to find a grey, depressing city of factories, being pleasingly disappointed with the fine views and width of open and green country quite close at hand.