An Analysis of Economic Crimes: Social Strain as a Primary Driver

This essay investigates the relationship between social strain and economic crimes, arguing that societal pressures, as described by Merton's strain theory, are a primary driver of financial offenses. The essay examines how economic conditions, social contradictions, and the lack of opportunities contribute to criminal behavior in the economic sphere. It explores the impact of social strain on individuals, leading them to commit crimes such as prostitution, theft, and drug dealing to achieve financial security. The essay also discusses the relevance of the chosen research topic, focusing on the changes in the nature and structure of crime due to economic activity. The essay concludes by suggesting measures to improve the economic climate, which could lead to a reduction in social ills and economic gains for people. The paper references various academic sources to support its arguments and provide a comprehensive analysis of the topic.

1
Name:
Course
Professor’s name
University name
City, State
Date of submission

2
Economic crimes are driven by social strain and not by individual drive
The Merton Theory best describes the strain theory. Robert Merton in 1938 states that the
society puts very high pressure on individuals to achieve what is acceptable by the society of the
socially acceptable goals even when they clearly lack the means. The consequence of this is that
it leads to a strain which leads to individual’s committing crimes such as engaging in prostitution
or stealing and selling drugs to gain financial security (Agnew, 2016).
According to Merton, strain can be categorized into two;
1. Individual: this refers to the pains and frictions experienced by a person in the quest of
satisfying their needs. The society goals if they become more significant to an individual
may lead to the person believing that achieving them may become more important than
the means.
2. Structural: the process by which the society filters down and affects how an individual
looks at the importance of his or her needs. If a particular social structure are inherently
deemed as inadequate, there is also inadequacy in regulation (Akers, 2017).
Thesis statement
Economic crimes are driven by social strain and not by individual drive.
Economic conditions
In modern conditions, characterized by the exacerbation of social contradictions in the
course of economic transformations taking place in societies. Globally, there is a certain
deterioration in the criminal situation in the sphere of economic activity. At the turn of two

3
decades, criminal behavior in business and in general in the area of economic activity became
common and characteristic of almost all models of a liberal market economy. The material
damage inflicted on society by economic crimes is so great that in individual countries it is
comparable with the size of the need (Broidy, and Santoro 2018).
Crime itself is a social phenomenon with a complex of underlying causes, factors and
conditions. Effectively countering the large-scale expansion of the criminogenic potential of
society which threatens to reduce its economic security, is only possible if there is adequate
scientific interpretation of the nature and causal relationships of crime. One of the most complex
and multidimensional phenomena of modern society.
As world experience shows, the transition of countries from one economic system to
another is closely associated with a huge number of negative phenomena, one of which is a
significant increase in crime, primarily in the economic sphere (Eriksson, and Broidy, 2017).
The transition from a command economy to a market requires the preparation of a new structure
of economic relations, capable of making a move to an economic system without social
upheavals in the society. Unpreparedness of the economic mechanism to a new economy.
As the analysis of criminological literature and periodicals shows, the characteristic of
economic crime is usually viewed through the prism of the concepts of crime in the sphere of
economic activity, mercenary crime, crimes against property In the absence of a legally
enshrined concept of economic security, the concept of economic crime is absent, which largely
reflects the complexity and diversity of this phenomenon (Hirschi, 2017). Crimes committed in

4
the sphere of economic activity, infringing on economic and property carrying, occupy a high
proportion in the structure of crime.
The relevance of the chosen research topic is also due to the fact that there are changes in
the nature and structure of crime in areas due economic activity.The purpose of the dissertation
research is to characterize crime in the field of economic activity, the definition of legal, social
and organizational measures to prevent crimes in the field of economic activity. The situation in
the social sphere is determined by the state of the economy, the general course of reforms, and
the availability of material and financial resources (Mubarak, and Quinn, 2019).
Economic reforms eliminated the equalization distribution of goods and services,
provided an opportunity for many citizens to independently secure a decent standard of living.
The general shortage of the consumer market has been overcome, the housing, medical and
educational services market is developing. The choice of types of work has become more
diverse, opportunities for entrepreneurship and secondary employment have been opened,
allowing citizens to earn additional income (Robert, 2018). Strengthening the targeting of social
support, and first of all, support for vulnerable groups of the population (pensioners, disabled
people, low-income families with children, young people), in order to limit and reduce poverty in
subsequent years.
Conclusion
With the stabilization and improvement of the economic and financial climate in the
country, it is envisaged to ensure a more favorable ratio of the minimum wage, pensions,
scholarships and allowances with the subsistence minimum of the corresponding socio-

5
demographic groups of the population (Walsh, 2017). This will lead to less social ills and more
economic gains for the people. The use of the mechanism of partial indexation of monetary
incomes of the population with a change in its periods depending on the inflation rate will be
continued.

6
References
Agnew, R., 2016. General strain theory and terrorism. The Handbook of the Criminology of
Terrorism, p.121.
Akers, R., 2017. Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance.
Routledge.
Broidy, L. and Santoro, W.A., 2018. General strain theory and racial insurgency: Assessing the
role of legitimate coping. Justice Quarterly, 35(1), pp.162-189.
Eriksson, L. and Broidy, L., 2017. Strain Theory and Crime. In The Palgrave Handbook of
Australian and New Zealand Criminology, Crime and Justice (pp. 543-556). Palgrave
Macmillan, Cham.
Hirschi, T., 2017. On the compatibility of rational choice and social control theories of crime.
In The reasoning criminal (pp. 105-118). Routledge.
Mubarak, A.R. and Quinn, S., 2019. General strain theory of Internet addiction and deviant
behaviour in social networking sites (SNS). Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics
in Society, 17(1), pp.61-71.
Robert, A., 2018. Stability and change in crime over the life course: A strain theory explanation.
In Developmental theories of crime and delinquency (pp. 101-132). Routledge.
Walsh, A., 2017. Behavior genetics and anomie/strain theory. In Biosocial Theories of
Crime (pp. 97-129). Routledge.