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Corruption and Social Capital

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Abstract

I examine the causal relation between social capital and corruption. A simple model illustrates potential mechanisms and yields testable implications, which I estimate in a sample of European countries. The estimated effect of social capital on corruption is found to be robust to the inclusion of a number of other variables and supplementing the sample with slightly older data from non-European countries. The evidence of the reverse causal direction is weak. I suggest that it is possible to build social capital through investing in education, interest in society and some level of income redistribution, which in turn reduces corruption.

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  • Christian, Bjørnskov, 2003. "Corruption and Social Capital," Working Papers 03-13, University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:aareco:2003_013
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    Cited by:

    1. Christopher J. Boudreaux & Boris N. Nikolaev & Randall G. Holcombe, 2018. "Corruption and destructive entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 181-202, June.
    2. Spyridon Boikos, 2016. "Corruption, Public Expenditure and Human Capital Accumulation," Review of Economic Analysis, Digital Initiatives at the University of Waterloo Library, vol. 8(1), pages 17-45, June.
    3. Geys, Benny & Heinemann, Friedrich & Kalb, Alexander, 2010. "Voter involvement, fiscal autonomy and public sector efficiency: Evidence from German municipalities," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 265-278, June.
    4. Mina Baliamoune‐Lutz, 2009. "Human Well‐Being Effects Of Institutions And Social Capital," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 27(1), pages 54-66, January.
    5. Hilde Coffé, 2009. "Social Capital and Community Heterogeneity," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 91(2), pages 155-170, April.
    6. Christian Bjørnskov, 2011. "Combating Corruption: On the Interplay between Institutional Quality and Social Trust," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(1), pages 135-159.
    7. Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard, 2003. "Social Capital, Corruption and Economic Growth: Eastern and Western Europe," Working Papers 03-21, University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Economics.
    8. Soares, Helena & Sequeira, Tiago Neves & Marques, Pedro Macias & Gomes, Orlando & Ferreira-Lopes, Alexandra, 2018. "Social infrastructure and the preservation of physical capital: Equilibria and transitional dynamics," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Elsevier, vol. 321(C), pages 614-632.
    9. Benjamin A. Olken, 2009. "Do Television and Radio Destroy Social Capital? Evidence from Indonesian Villages," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(4), pages 1-33, October.
    10. Anneli Kaasa & Eve Parts, 2007. "Individual-Level Determinants Of Social Capital In Europe: Differences Between Country Groups," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 56, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    11. Liu Qijun & Peng Yaping, 2015. "Determinants of Willingness to Bribe: Micro Evidence from the Educational Sector in China," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 235(2), pages 168-183, April.
    12. Georgarakos, Dimitris & Fürth, Sven, 2015. "Household repayment behavior: The role of social capital and institutional, political, and religious beliefs," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 249-265.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corruption; Illegal behavior; Rent-seeking; Social capital;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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