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Not if all that happens is a small fine.


No really. There's been endless research on this, and increasing the magnitude of the punishment does very little to deter unwanted behaviors. Increasing the likelihood of getting caught does, though, even when the actual punishment for getting caught is relatively minor.

Which would seem to suggest that stuffing even more people into prisons may not help much; what we really need is to dial back some of the gutting of regulatory bodies that's made it so easy for corrupt behavior to flourish in the first place. Sunlight continues to be the best disinfectant.

And you can kind of see it on an international scale? The "better regulation" approach is favored by places like EU countries, while the "throw the leaders in jail" approach is more favored by places like Russia and China that don't exactly seem to be ideal role models for how to keep corporate corruption in check.




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