(Which of the following factors has contributed to the rising problem of economic crime according...

In the White-Collar Crime chapter, the manual’s discussion of Crimes of the Middle Classes identifies several factors contributing to the rising problem of economic crime. One of the specific factors mentioned is that the economy increasingly runs on credit, which often leads to rising personal debt. The manual notes that offenders frequently showed serious discrepancies between their resources and their commitments, and it further explains that the easy availability of money and goods on credit can fuel fraud schemes. This directly supports option B. The other answer choices do not reflect the factors listed in the manual. Therefore, the correct answer is the economy’s increased reliance on credit.

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