WHITE-COLLAR CRIMES AND THE EFFICIENCY OF SELECTED GOVERNMENT PARASTATALS IN NIGERIA

This study considers the effect of white-collar crimes on the efficiency of government parastatals in Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to examine; the level of operational efficiency of government parastatals in Nigeria, the level of prevalence of white-collar crimes among government officials, and the various levels of legal and institutional frameworks established by government in combating white-collar crimes. The study was anchored on the concepts of white-collar crimes as it relates to national development. A survey research design was employed to elicit information from randomly selected respondents. The data obtained were analysed using multiple regression technique. Results from the study revealed that the combined influence of Embezzlement (Ez) and Bribery (Br) on efficiency of selected government parastatals is significantly positive (F= 83.37, p value = 0.000 < 0.05. Also, each component of white collar crimes (WCC) employed in the study - Embezzlement (Ez) (t = 6.175, p < 0.05) and Bribery (Br) (t = 3.222, p < 0.05) had significant effect on the efficiency of government parastatals in Nigeria. The study seeks to prompt management of government parastatals towards providing adequate measures that will effectively combat the menace of white collar crimes. The study therefore contributed to the link between corrupt practices prevalent in government parastatals and national development by revealing how white-collar crimes results in operational inefficiency of government parastatals in Nigeria.