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Culture and Corruption

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  • Abigail Barr
  • Danila Serra

Abstract

Working with a sample of individuals from 43 countries, including some of the most and least corrupt in the world, we run an experiment in which: `private citizens` have to decide whether and how much to offer `public servants` in exchange for corrupt services; `public servants` have to decide whether and how much to accept; and offered and accepted bribes do harm to other members of society. We can predict who, among the younger members of our sample, will offer bribes with reference to the level of corruption prevailing in their home countries. And, by comparing behaviour across treatments, we can identify the effect on behaviour of an internalized social norm or preference for not engaging in bribery because it is harmful to society. We conclude that corruption is, in part, a cultural phenomenon.

Suggested Citation

  • Abigail Barr & Danila Serra, 2006. "Culture and Corruption," Economics Series Working Papers GPRG-WPS-040, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:oxf:wpaper:gprg-wps-040
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ting Gong & Shiru Wang, 2013. "Indicators and Implications of Zero Tolerance of Corruption: The Case of Hong Kong," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 112(3), pages 569-586, July.
    2. Mutascu, Mihai, 2009. "The effect of the government intervention in economy on corruption," MPRA Paper 16175, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Christoph Engel & Sebastian Goerg & Gaoneng Yu, 2012. "Symmetric vs. Asymmetric Punishment Regimes for Bribery," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2012_01, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, revised May 2013.
    4. Truex, Rory, 2011. "Corruption, Attitudes, and Education: Survey Evidence from Nepal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 1133-1142, July.
    5. Pande, Rohini, 2008. "Understanding Political Corruption in Low Income Countries," Handbook of Development Economics, in: T. Paul Schultz & John A. Strauss (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 50, pages 3155-3184, Elsevier.
    6. Turhan Kaymak & Eralp Bektas, 2015. "Corruption in Emerging Markets: A Multidimensional Study," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 124(3), pages 785-805, December.
    7. Joseph Ntayi & Pascal Ngoboka & Cornelia Kakooza, 2013. "Moral Schemas and Corruption in Ugandan Public Procurement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(3), pages 417-436, February.
    8. Mihai Mutascu, 2010. "Corruption, Social Welfare, Culture and Religion in European Union 27," Transition Studies Review, Springer;Central Eastern European University Network (CEEUN), vol. 16(4), pages 908-917, February.
    9. Mikami, Satoru & Furukawa, Mitsuaki, 2016. "Outsourced Technical Cooperation Reconsidered: Agency Problems in the Support of Decentralized Public Service Delivery in Sierra Leone," Working Papers 119, JICA Research Institute.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corruption; Culture; Economic experiment; Social norms; Social preferences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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