Code and Supplementary Data For: Punishing Finacial Crimes: The Impact of Prison Sentences on Defendants and Their Colleagues

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Kristiina Huttunen, Aalto University ; Martti Kaila, University of Glasgow; David C Macdonald, University of British Columbia Okanagan; Emily Nix, University of Southern California

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
  ReplicationPackage 10/23/2025 11:24:AM

Project Citation: 

Huttunen, Kristiina , Kaila, Martti, Macdonald, David C, and Nix, Emily. Code and Supplementary Data For: Punishing Finacial Crimes: The Impact of Prison Sentences on Defendants and Their Colleagues. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2026. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2026-04-10. https://doi.org/10.3886/E237669V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary Financial crimes are costly to society but less severely punished than other nonviolent crimes. We investigate whether prison sentences reduce financial crimes. Using random assignment of judges in Finland to identify causal impacts, we find a prison sentence reduces defendant reoffending by 42.9 percentage points three years post-sentencing. Given prior evidence of financial misconduct "contagion," we also explore spillovers on colleagues. A prison sentence reduces the likelihood that a financial crime defendant's colleagues commit crimes by 27 percentage points, suggesting broader deterrent effects of harsher punishments, but only for fraud cases. Last, we show financial crimes are not victimless crimes. 

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms financial crime; incarceration; the economics of crime
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
      K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage North Carolina, Finland
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 2000 – 2015 (Years 2000 to 2015 inclusive)
Universe:  View help for Universe Adult criminal court cases in Finland
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) program source code

Methodology

Data Source:  View help for Data Source Finland district court data, Statistics Finland 2000 - 2015
Finland police arrest data, Statistics Finland 2000 - 2015
Finnish administrative tax records (FLEED and FOLK), Statistics Finland 2000 - 2015
Finnish District Court Judge Information, Statistics Finland 2000 - 2015
North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections Sentencing Component File 2000 - 2015
Unit(s) of Observation:  View help for Unit(s) of Observation Defendant Court Case

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Published Versions

V1 [2026-04-10]

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