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Is corruption efficiency-enhancing? A case study of nine Central and Eastern European countries

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  • Gartner, Christine
  • Giordano, Claire
  • Lopez-Garcia, Paloma
  • Gamberoni, Elisa

Abstract

We investigate the role of corruption in the business environment in explaining the efficiency of within-sector production factor allocation across firms in nine Central and Eastern European countries in the period 2003-2012. Using a conditional convergence model, we find evidence of a positive relationship between corruption growth and both labour and capital misallocation dynamics, once country framework conditions are controlled for: the link between corruption and input misallocation dynamics is larger the smaller the country, the lower the degree of political stability and of civil liberties, and the weaker the quality of its regulations. As input misallocation is one of the determinants of productivity growth, we further show that the relationship between changes in corruption and TFP growth is indeed negative. Our results hold when we tackle a possible omitted variable bias by instrumenting corruption with two instrumental variables (the percentage of women in Parliament and freedom of the press). JEL Classification: D24, D73, O47

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  • Gartner, Christine & Giordano, Claire & Lopez-Garcia, Paloma & Gamberoni, Elisa, 2016. "Is corruption efficiency-enhancing? A case study of nine Central and Eastern European countries," Working Paper Series 1950, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20161950
    Note: 338641
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    4. Gamberoni, Elisa & Giordano, Claire & Lopez-Garcia, Paloma, 2016. "Capital and labour (mis)allocation in the euro area: some stylized facts and determinants," Working Paper Series 1981, European Central Bank.
    5. Claire Giordano, Paloma Lopez-Garcia, 2018. "Is corruption efficiency-enhancing? A case study of the Central and Eastern European region," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 15(1), pages 119-164, June.
    6. Claire Giordano, 2023. "Revisiting the real exchange rate misalignment‐economic growth nexus via the across‐sector misallocation channel," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1329-1384, September.
    7. Kong, Dongmin & Tao, Yunqing & Wang, Yanan, 2020. "China's anti-corruption campaign and firm productivity: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    8. Luigi Aldieri & Cristian Barra & Nazzareno Ruggiero & Concetto Paolo Vinci, 2023. "Corruption and firms’ efficiency: international evidence using an instrumental variable approach," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 40(2), pages 731-759, July.
    9. Guo, Jing & Wang, Yanan & Yang, Wei, 2021. "China's anti-corruption shock and resource reallocation in the energy industry," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    10. Elisa Gamberoni & Christine Gartner & Claire Giordano & Paloma Lopez-Garcia, 2016. "Is corruption efficiency-enhancing? A case study of nine Central and Eastern European countries," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 331, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    bribes; capital misallocation; labour misallocation; total factor productivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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