Bio: (1911-2010) American sociologist and criminologist. Marshall Clinard received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago. He was a professor at several universities, including the University of Iowa, the University of Wisconsin, and Vanderbilt University, among others.

Clinard is known for his research in the field of sociology of crime, focusing on deviant behavior, gangs, and corporate crime. In The Black Market: A Study of White Collar Crime (1952), he researched black-market offenses carried out during World War II and whether they should be considered a type of white-collar crime. Clinard questioned the applicability of Sutherland’s differential association theory to black-market criminals, as personality characteristics of the offenders can equally well explain their behaviours.

Clinard’s book Sociology of Deviant Behavior (1957) become the one of the most notable criminology textbooks. Clinard and Richard Quinney conducted a study of corporate and white-collar crime and published its results in Criminal Behavior Systems, A Typology (1967). They divided corporate white-collar crime into two categories: 1) corporate crime conducted on behalf of a corporation, and 2) occupational crime where individuals committed crimes against their employers for their personal benefit.

Clinard collaborated with Peter Cleary Yeager on another study of corporate crimes, the results of which were published in two books: Illegal Corporate Behavior (1979) and Corporate Crime (1980). The authors analyzed 1,553 crimes committed in 582 of the largest corporations in the US in the years 1975 and 1976, and concluded that those crimes represent only “the tip of the iceberg” of all the crimes committed in those corporations.

Main works

The Black Market: A Study of White Collar Crime (1952);

Sociology of Deviant Behavior (1957);

Anomie and Deviant Behavior: A Discussion and Critique (1964);

Slums and Community Development – Experiments in self help (1966); 

Criminal Behavior Systems, A Typology (1967);

Crime in developing countries: a comparative perspective (1973); 

Cities with Little Crime: The Case of Switzerland (1978);

Illegal Corporate Behavior (1979);  

Corporate Crime (1980);

Corporate Ethics and Crime: The Role of Middle Management (1983);

Corporate Corruption:The Abuse of Power (1990).