Abstract Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of peer ethical behavior and individual differences in valuation of fairness vs loyalty on whistleblowing intentions in academic settings. This study also tests the underlying mechanism responsible for the effects of peer behavior on reporting intentions, namely, fear of reprisal. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted with 947 undergraduate students. The model was tested using ordinary least squares regression models followed by bootstrapped mediation analyses. Findings Results showed that the effects of peer ethical behavior on whistleblowing intentions are mediated by fear of retaliation. Moreover, the findings indicated that, for low-severity transgressions, there is an interactive effect between fear of retaliation and endorsement of fairness over loyalty on whistleblowing intentions. Research limitations/implications When the misconduct is seen as minor, a potential whistleblower may understand that the expected costs outweigh the possible benefits of blowing the whistle. In such situations, higher fear of retaliation would undermine the effects of individual’s endorsement of fairness over loyalty on reporting intentions. Practical implications As the social environment significantly affects someone’s whistleblowing intentions, there should be visible efforts to improve and to foster an ethical infrastructure in organizations. Social implications As fear of retaliation by peers is one of the most important determinants affecting the decision to report misconduct in general, there must be serious efforts from leaders to mitigate any threat of retaliation to those who come forward. Originality/value This work contributes to the discussion about individual and situational antecedents of whistleblowing. More importantly, it sheds light on one potential boundary condition for the influence of the fairness–loyalty tradeoff on whistleblowing decisions: severity of the transgression. The findings provide initial evidence that, for low-severity transgressions, fear of retaliation weakens the positive effects of one’s moral compass in terms of preference for fairness over loyalty on whistleblowing intentions.

Resumo Este artigo estima a cifra oculta para os crimes de furto, roubo e agressão física (lesão corporal) no Brasil com dados da PNAD de 2009. As taxas de cifra oculta são estimadas para diversos grupos demográficos, econômicos e sociais. Posteriormente, estima-se um modelo de regressão probit a fim de identificar os principais determinantes da cifra oculta para cada crime especificado. Os resultados encontrados demonstram que em média 62,55% das ocorrências de roubo, furto e agressão física não chegam aos registros polícias e pessoas com menor grau escolaridade e faixa etária contribuem de maneira geral para o aumento da cifra oculta. Estes e os demais resultados obtidos contribuem diretamente nas políticas de segurança pública, bem como para obtenção de estatísticas do crime e contribuem para a pesquisa em análise econômica do direito.

Abstract This article estimates the dark figure of the crime for theft, robbery and physical aggression (bodily injury) using a national representative survey from Brazil (PNAD 2009). In order to obtain a complete profile of the occurrence of this phenomenon in Brazil, several estimates are made considering demographic, economic and social aspects. Subsequently, a probit regression model is estimated in order to identify the main determinants of the dark figure of crime. The results show that, on average, 62.55% of theft, robbery and physical aggression cases do not reach police records and people with lower educational level and younger people generally contribute to increase the dark figure of crime. These and other results obtained directly contribute to public security policies as well as to obtain crime statistics.

Este artigo usa a Análise Envoltória de Dados (DEA) para medir a eficiência na Justiça Estadual Brasileira. Os resultados indicam que a eficiência relativa varia significativamente entre diferentes tribunais. Há um grupo que consistentemente apresenta bom desempenho, e outro que consistentemente apresenta desempenho fraco. Entretanto, o maior problema parece estar com um grupo de tribunais que apresenta resultados instáveis, podendo indicar deficiências na coleta e/ou mensuração dos dados. Também é possível inferir a partir dos resultados que a falta de recursos não é a principal explicação para a ineficiência, dado que esta pode ser alcançada sem alteração na quantidade de recursos empregados.

This paper uses Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to measure efficiency in Brazilian State Courts. Results show that relative efficiency varies substantially across the states. There is a group of consistent top performers, as well as a group of consistent poor performers. Yet, the biggest problem seems to be with a group of courts presenting very unstable results, whichmight indicate deficient data collection and/ormeasurement. It may also be inferred from the results that the lack of resources is not the main reason for inefficiency, since efficiency could be attained without changing the level of inputs employed.