The effect of the death penalty as a deterrent has been studied and found lacking. It seems once you hit a certain threshold of "bad for me" worse punishments like capital punishment don't perform any better. Still, it's not often that I get to say that the Chinese government has the right idea even if in this case they take it too far which is more what I'd expect from them.
Death penalty as a deterrent may generally be true, but I do believe it would be more effective against white collar executives who often have an obsession with building their private legacies. The thought of an early death as consequence of cheating to reach the top would cause some to consider a slightly more legal/ethical path on their climb.
