Van Heerden, J.H. (Jan Horn), 1957-Blignaut, James NelsonGroenendijk, N.S.2008-08-292008-08-291999-06Van Heerden, JH, Blignaut, JN & Groenendijk, NS 1999, 'On the shady side of economics', South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 207-221. [http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_ecoman.html]1015-8812http://hdl.handle.net/2263/6788This paper explains fraud from an economic point of view, using traditional economic tools and reasoning. It is shown how a supply-of-fraud function can be defined and estimated for individuals, and subsequently aggregated to derive crime rates for societies. Another approach is to explain the behaviour of fraudsters as rent-seekers, a la mode Gary Becker, and the problem of fraud may be seen as a case of market failure too. The paper also discusses some effects of fraud on society, and gives an empirical comparison between countries.1606521 bytesapplication/pdfenFaculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of PretoriaSupply-of-fraud functionsRound-trippingRent-seekersPyramid schemesMoney launderingEconomic rentFinanceEconomicsCrimeFraudArticle