Social Osmosis and Patterns of Crime.

Crime and the fear of crime have a deep negative impact on personal and societal well-being. Several observed patterns regarding criminal behavior, however, remain inadequately understood. In this analysis, individual's perceptions (concerning their probabilities of punishment) and choices are determined endogenously, while incorporating the information available to them and how this information is generated within the economy. The resulting dynamic relationships are then studied to examine how criminality might evolve over time, why crime participation rates might differ among societal groups even when they face similar economic fundamentals, and how the features of the economy might affect these rates. Copyright 1991 by University of Chicago Press.

Who gets to the top?: generalists versus specialists in managerial organizations

We study organizations with individuals whose expertise differ in content and breadth. For example, specialists have deeper expertise than generalists, but in fewer areas. Difficulties in communication depend on who communicates with whom. Our analysis, which is consistent with several empirical findings, shows that: (i) an organization is more valuable and its leader has broader expertise if it is more complex, faces more unpredictability, or communication technologies improve; (ii) those higher in multilayered hierarchies have broader expertise; and (iii) any one-dimensional concept (e.g., talent) cannot explain the assignment of different individuals to different levels in hierarchies