Black, William K

Henry, Pontell N.

Kitty, Calavita

This paper examines the role of white-collar crime in the savings and loan crisis. Noting economists\u27 assertions that crime was only a minor ingredient in the crisis, we compare the explanatory power of this  minimal fraud  model to that of its  material fraud  alternative. Bringing together evidence from every major study of thrifts in the 1980s, we argue that only the material fraud hypothesis can make sense of these data. This study demonstrates the utility of deductive reasoning in distinguishing between white-collar crime and ordinary business transactions, thereby potentially contributing to prosecutorial efforts, and helping resolve long-standing methodological dilemmas confront­ing white-collar criminologists

The Savings and Loan Debacle of the 1980s: White-Collar Crime or Risky Business

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