Extant assessments of Messner and Rosenfeld's institutional-anomie theory (1994) have generally supported the thesis that, in social collectives where the economy dominates, non-economic institutions (i.e. the family, education, polity) are rendered feeble, unable to exert their normative controls. The cultural values of these societies place primacy on "making it" (monetary success), while at the same time placing a much weaker emphasis on the licit means of achieving these goals. The resultant state is one of anomie, conducive to crime. Messner and Rosenfeld have extended their argument stating that it is not economic dominance per se that contributes to high crime rates, but any tip in the institutional balance of power. The current study examines one of these configurations which hypothesizes that, in nation-states where the state dominates other institutions, the dominant cultural orientation is one of moral cynicism, conducive to corruption-prone behaviors. Using macro-level data, the current study assesses the efficacy of this alternate configuration of institutional-anomie theory as a predictor of corruption cross-nationally. Using a sample of 125 nations, state dominance is positively related to corruption. The effects of the state were both mediated and moderated by economic strength, measured as levels of industrialization.

Both elite deviance, committed by the upper echelons of society, and organized crime threaten development and the rights and security of people across and within nations; however empirical research on these topics is limited, especially in the field of criminology. This study addresses this gap in the literature by testing hypotheses derived from Simon’s symbiotic theory of elite deviance, which posits that direct and indirect relationships exist between elite deviance, organized crime, and conventional crimes exist (2008). The intervening effects of national culture and political economic ideology are also considered. To test the research hypotheses, this study uses homicide rates, corruption and organized crime measures, and indicators of national culture from 114 nations. Findings suggest that empirical linkages exist between elite deviance, organized crime and conventional deviance at the cross-national level. These data suggest the level of corruption and organized crime within a nation are better predictors of homicide than conventional explanations of violent crime (e.g., modernization/development, opportunity/routine activities). Furthermore, organized crime partially mediated the relationship between corruption and homicide rates in the same (positive) direction. This implies that the criminogenic effect of elite deviance on non-elite deviance operates indirectly through organized crime. The corruption-homicide relationship was also partially mediated by a national culture of moral cynicism and capitalist economic conditions. Although not definitive given methodological concerns and alternate theoretical explanations, this study provides avenues for future research into the underlying social processes that influence the crime rate within nations.