Romania’s Corruption Barometer: Putting the Public Sector on a Scale

Diverting public resources or the use of public office for private gain, benefits a powerful few while imposes costs on the large majority of the society. In 2014, Romania, along with Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy were ranked the most corrupt nations out of 31 EU and Western European states in the Corruption Perceptions Index, a position Romania has remained in the last 3 years, scoring 43 out of 100 points. Transparency International relies on the perception of experts rather than measuring actual corruption experiences. Thus, this study is set out to capture the experience and perception of the general citizenry. This study finds robust evidence that corruption reacts to standard economic incentive, while the effects of anti-corruption policies often weaken as public officials, politicians and businessmen often find alternate strategies for rent seeking.