IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bcp/journl/v9y2025i3sp3505-3512.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigating the Causal Relationship Between Corruption and Institutional Weaknesses A Research Paper in Partial Fulfillment of POSC 508

Author

Listed:
  • S. Darlington Quaye

    (University of Liberia Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) Graduate School of International Studies P.O Box 1920, Capitol Hill, Monrovia Republic of Liberia)

Abstract

To address a crucial problem that threatens governance and economic development in many nations, this research paper examines the causal relationship between institutional inadequacies and corruption. The pervasive nature of corruption and its detrimental effects on institutional integrity are the focus of this study, raising the question of how these two phenomena interact. The main objective of this research is to inform policymakers about viable reform initiatives by demonstrating the extent to which institutional flaws contribute to corrupt practices and vice versa. This investigation is guided by the following research questions: (1) Does corruption lead to institutional weaknesses? (2) To what extent do institutional flaws contribute to corruption? The hypothesis suggests a reciprocal relationship between increasing incidences of corruption and greater degrees of institutional flaws. To determine the causal relationships between corruption and institutional weaknesses, this study employs a quantitative methodology that includes structured data collection through surveys of a balanced sample of twenty (20) respondents, statistical analysis, and synthesis of findings. Secondary data sources, such as Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), provide strong empirical support for the research. Institutional theory, which posits that institutions influence behavior and outcomes in societies, serves as the theoretical foundation for this study and offers a lens through which to examine the relationship between institutional quality and corruption. This research aims to contribute empirical data on the link between institutional inadequacies and corruption to the existing literature, ultimately providing insights for enhancing governance institutions globally.

Suggested Citation

  • S. Darlington Quaye, 2025. "Investigating the Causal Relationship Between Corruption and Institutional Weaknesses A Research Paper in Partial Fulfillment of POSC 508," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(3s), pages 3505-3512, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bcp:journl:v:9:y:2025:i:3s:p:3505-3512
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/Digital-Library/volume-9-issue-3s/3505-3512.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/articles/investigating-the-causal-relationship-between-corruption-and-institutional-weaknesses-a-research-paper-in-partial-fulfillment-of-posc-508/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bardhan, Pranab, 2006. "Globalization and rural poverty," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 1393-1404, August.
    2. Benjamin A. Olken & Rohini Pande, 2012. "Corruption in Developing Countries," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 4(1), pages 479-509, July.
    3. Christopher J. Anderson & Yuliya V. Tverdova, 2003. "Corruption, Political Allegiances, and Attitudes Toward Government in Contemporary Democracies," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 47(1), pages 91-109, January.
    4. Paolo Mauro, 1995. "Corruption and Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(3), pages 681-712.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Armand, Alex & Coutts, Alexander & Vicente, Pedro C. & Vilela, Inês, 2023. "Measuring corruption in the field using behavioral games," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    2. Giorgio Gulino & Federico Masera, 2023. "Contagious Dishonesty: Corruption Scandals and Supermarket Theft," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 218-251, October.
    3. Aleksandar Kešeljević & Rok Spruk, 2024. "Estimating the effects of Syrian civil war," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 66(2), pages 671-703, February.
    4. Li, Weijia & Roland, Gérard & Xie, Yang, 2020. "Erosion of state power, corruption control, and political stability," BOFIT Discussion Papers 5/2020, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    5. repec:zbw:bofitp:2020_005 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Li, Weijia & Roland, Gérard & Xie, Yang, 2020. "Erosion of state power, corruption control, and political stability," BOFIT Discussion Papers 5/2020, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition.
    7. Hübler, Olaf & Koch, Melanie & Menkhoff, Lukas & Schmidt, Ulrich, 2021. "Corruption and cheating: Evidence from rural Thailand," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    8. Djankov, Simeon & Nikolova, Elena & Zilinsky, Jan, 2016. "The happiness gap in Eastern Europe," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 108-124.
    9. Lourdes ROJAS RUBIO, 2022. "Inequality, Corruption and Support for Democracy," THEMA Working Papers 2022-20, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    10. Maria Kravtsova & Aleksey Oshchepkov, 2019. "Market And Network Corruption," HSE Working papers WP BRP 209/EC/2019, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    11. Emanuele Colonnelli & Jorge Gallego & Mounu Prem, 2022. "What predicts corruption?," Chapters, in: Paolo Buonanno & Paolo Vanin & Juan Vargas (ed.), A Modern Guide to the Economics of Crime, chapter 16, pages 345-373, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Brassiolo, Pablo & Estrada, Ricardo & Fajardo, Gustavo & Vargas, Juan, 2021. "Self-Selection into corruption: Evidence from the lab," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 799-812.
    13. Oana Borcan & Mikael Lindahl & Andreea Mitrut, 2017. "Fighting Corruption in Education: What Works and Who Benefits?," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 180-209, February.
    14. Di Guardo, Maria Chiara & Marrocu, Emanuela & Paci, Raffaele, 2016. "The effect of local corruption on ownership strategy in cross-border mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 4225-4241.
    15. Cañete-Straub, Rumilda & Miquel-Florensa, Josepa & Straub, Stéphane & Van der Straeten, Karine, 2020. "Voting corrupt politicians out of office? Evidence from a survey experiment in Paraguay," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 223-239.
    16. Leonardo Becchetti & Luca Corazzini & Vittorio Pelligra, 2018. "We Can Be Heroes. Trust and Resilience in Corrupted Economic Environments," CEIS Research Paper 429, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 11 Apr 2018.
    17. Jeffrey B. Nugent, 2014. "Detecting Corruption And Evaluating Programs To Control It: Some Lessons For Mena," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Ishac Diwan (ed.), UNDERSTANDING THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE ARAB UPRISINGS, chapter 7, pages 131-163, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    18. Harouna Sedgo & Luc Désiré Omgba, 2023. "Corruption and distortion of public expenditures: evidence from Africa," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 30(2), pages 419-452, April.
    19. Hakimov, Rustamdjan & Kajackaite, Agne, 2024. "Breaking bad: Malfunctioning control institutions erode good behavior in a cheating game," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 162-178.
    20. Davide Torsello & Bertrand Venard, 2015. "The Anthropology of Corruption," Post-Print hal-01238748, HAL.
    21. Auriol, Emmanuelle & Straub, Stéphane & Flochel, Thomas, 2016. "Public Procurement and Rent-Seeking: The Case of Paraguay," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 395-407.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bcp:journl:v:9:y:2025:i:3s:p:3505-3512. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Dr. Pawan Verma (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.