Economic Crime

Code:

MCO104

Acronym:

CE

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Criminology

Instance: 2025/2026 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Course/CS Responsible:	Criminology

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MC	14	Plano Oficial do ano letivo 2017	1	-	3	-

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

In the first part of the lectures, in addition to explaining the differences between economic crimes and other offenses, the attention is directed to the presentation of the theories explaining their commitment, emphasizing the role of market failures in the creation of opportunities for economic and financial crime, as well as the most recent advances in the literature on the role of social inequality and anomie in the commitment of this type of crimes.

The second part of the course will look at economic crimes and globalization, including new opportunities for offenses, circulation of potential offenders, trans-national victimization and harms. Glocal prevention and deterrence mechanisms will also be addressed.

The last part of the course will present existing compliance and control mechanisms for economic offenses. Supported in evidence-based results, axisting different models will be presented as well as benefits and limitations of each.

Learning outcomes and competences

With this curricular unit, students are also expected to be able to distinguish economic and financial crimes (and especially white-collar crimes) from other crimes and to present the most important contributions of science in explaining the commission of such offences. In the context of explanatory theories, it is intended that students be able to explain the role of market failures in creating opportunities for economic and financial crime, as well as the most recent advances in the literature on the role of social inequality and anomie in the commitment of such crimes.
Students should be able to think about different types of economic crimes, identifying strategies for their prevention and detection by social control systems.

Students are asked to understand and critically analyse the most relevant empirical results concerning compliance and control models uses towards economic crimes.

At the end, students should be able to identify the most relevant types of economic crimes (such as corruption, crimes against the environment, against consumers, against the state, etc.), as well as to identify the offender's and the offence's features, victims and harms, as well as theories.

Students will also be able to critically assess and to suggest compliace measures, as well as prevention mechanisms and improvements to fighting these types of crime.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

N.A.

Program

A. ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES

A1) Nature of economic and financial crime; characteristics of offenders and explicatiive theories
1.a) Definition;
1.b) The offender, nature of the crime, damages and victimization;
1.c) Theories of crime

A2) Market failures and opportunity for economic and financial crime
2.a) The problem of market failures (public and common goods, externalities, monopoly);
2.b) Asymmetries of information and the agency theory;
2.c) Types of economis and financial crimes that derive from market failures: environmental crime; crimes against consumers; crimes against competition; crimes against shareholders; crimes against the state (lobbying, corruption and public procurement; tax evasion), crimes of finance institutions; occupational crime. 

A3) Anomia, desigualdade e crime económico e financeiro.

B. Prevention, regulation, and combating economic and financial crimes

B.1. Preliminary note: the transnational nature of economic and financial crime

B.2. Contextual aspects of compliance and crime control: deregulation, impunity, immunity, and lack of accountability

B3: The two paradigms: self-regulation and external regulation
B.4. Evidence-based solutions: corporate crimes, tax crimes, financial crimes, political crimes - what works? Examples of environmental crimes, money laundering, corruption, tax evasion and frauds

Mandatory literature

Becker Gary S. 340; Essays in the economics of crime and punishment. ISBN: 0-87014-263-1
Becker, G.; Crime and punishment: An economic approach, Journal of Political Economy, 76, 169-217, 1968
Benson Michael L.; Understanding white-collar crime. ISBN: 978-0-415-70403-8
Cruz José Manuel Neves 1965-; Economia e política. ISBN: 978-972-32-1583-0
Cruz José Manuel Neves 1965- 340; Infrações económicas e financeiras. ISBN: 978-972-32-2170-1
Friedrichs David O.; Trusted criminals. ISBN: 978-0-495-60082-4
Robbins Stephen P.; Organizational behavior. ISBN: 978-1-292-14630-0
Roberts John; The^modern firm. ISBN: 978-0-19-829376-7
Slyke Shanna R. van 340; The^Oxford handbook of white-collar crime. ISBN: 978-0-19-992551-3
Pontell Henry N. 340; International handbook of white-collar and corporate crime. ISBN: 978-0-387-34110-1
Gregg Barak; - The Routledge International Handbook of the Crimes of the Powerful
Nigel South, Avi Brisman; Routledge International Handbook of Green Criminology
Van Erp Judith 340; The^routledge handbook of white-collar and corporate crime in Europe. ISBN: 978-0-415-72214-8
Van Erp Judith; O^papel dos atores privados na regulação e aplicação das normas contra o dano ambiental causado
Rothe Dawn L.; Crimes of globalization. ISBN: 978-0-415-85631-7

Comments from the literature

Other references - mainly published scientific articles - will be given to students during lectures.

Teaching methods and learning activities

The theoretical and practical classes begin with a theoretical exposition by the professor. Afterwards, a debate is open to foster the constructive and critical competencies of the students, who will have an active participation in the learning under the guidance of the professors.

The evaluation method is the distributed evaluation without final exam.
No assiduity conditions are required.
The weighting elements for the evaluation are:
1. With 50% weighting of the grade: an individual work on the contents of part A of the program, whose configuration norms and themes will be indicated in the first classes;
2. With the 50% weighting of the grade: an individual presentation  on the contents of part B or C of the program.
Failure to do any of these two elements of evaluation implies failure in the curricular unit.
The final grade of the curricular unit corresponds to the weighted average of the classifications obtained in the two mentioned evaluation elements.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	50,00
Trabalho escrito	50,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	57,00
Frequência das aulas	24,00
Total:	81,00

Eligibility for exams

Cf. General regulation on students’ evaluation.

Calculation formula of final grade

Final grade = (0.50xWritten text) + (0.50xPresentation).

Examinations or Special Assignments

Cf. General regulation on students’ evaluation.

Internship work/project

N.A.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Cf. General regulation on students’ evaluation.

Classification improvement

Cf. General regulation on students’ evaluation.