Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T21:20:48.108Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Political Corruption Traps*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2016

Marko Klašnja ,
Andrew T. Little  and
Joshua A. Tucker
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Academics and policymakers recognize that there are serious costs associated with systemic corruption. Stubbornly, many countries or regions remain stuck in a high-corruption equilibrium—a “corruption trap.” Most existing theories concentrate on mutually reinforcing expectations of corrupt behavior among a fixed set of bureaucrats or politicians, implying that changing such expectations can lead to lower corruption. We develop models that more fully characterize the political nature of corruption traps by also analyzing the behavior of voters and entrants to politics, as well their interaction with incumbent politicians. We show that corruption traps can arise through strategic behavior of each set of actors, as well as through their interrelations. By linking politician, voter, and entrant behavior, we provide an explanation for why simply trying to change expectations among one set of actors is likely insufficient for eliminating corruption traps.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Political Science Research and Methods , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , July 2018 , pp. 413 - 428
Copyright
© The European Political Science Association 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

Marko Klašnja, Assistant Professor, School of Foreign Service and the Department of Government, Georgetown University, 37th & O Streets NW, ICC-593, Washington DC 20057, USA ([email protected]). Andrew T. Little, Assistant Professor, Department of Government, Cornell University, 301 White Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA ([email protected]). Joshua A. Tucker, Professor, Wilf Family Department of Politics, and Director, Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia, New York University, 19 West 4th Street, New York, New York 10012, USA ([email protected]). The authors thank James Hollyer, Gilat Levy, Tommaso Nannicini, Natalija Novta, Carlo Prato, Milan Svolik, Erik Wibbels, audience members at the 2013 American Political Science Association Annual Conference, the 2014 Midwestern Political Science Association Annual Conference, and the 2016 New York University-London School of Economics Annual Political Economy Conference, several anonymous referees, and the editor of PSRM for helpful comments and suggestions. To view supplementary material for this article, please visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/psrm.2016.45

References

Alt, James E., and Lassen, David Dreyer. 2003. ‘The Political Economy of Institutions and Corruption in American States’. Journal of Theoretical Politics 15(3):341–365.Google Scholar
Andvig, Jens Chr., and Moene, Karl Ove. 1990. ‘How Corruption May Corrupt’. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 13(1):63–76.Google Scholar
Ashworth, Scott, Bueno de Mesquita, Ethan, and Friedenberg, Amanda. forthcoming. ‘Accountability and Information in Elections’. American Economic Journal: Microeconomics. Available at https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/mic.20150349&from=f Google Scholar
Banerjee, Abhijit, and Pande, Rohini. 2009. ‘Parochial Politics: Ethnic Preferences and Politician Corruption’. Unpublished manuscript, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Google Scholar
Banfield, Edward C., and Banfield, Laura Fasano. 1958. The Moral Basis of a Backward Society. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Barberá, Pablo, Fernández-Vázquez, Pablo, and Rivero, Gonzalo. 2016. ‘Rooting Out Corruption or Rooting for Corruption? The Electoral Consequences of Corruption Scandals in Spain, 2003-2011’. Political Science Research and Methods 4(2):379–397.Google Scholar
Becker, Sascha, Boeckh, Katrin, Hainz, Christa, and Woessmann, Ludger. 2016. ‘The Empire is Dead, Long Live the Empire! Long-Run Persistence of Trust and Corruption in the Bureaucracy’. The Economic Journal 126(590):40–74.Google Scholar
Cadot, Olivier. 1987. ‘Corruption as a Gamble’. Journal of Public Economics 33(2):223–244.Google Scholar
Caselli, Francesco, and Morelli, Massimo. 2004. ‘Bad Politicians’. Journal of Public Economics 88(3–4):759–782.Google Scholar
Chong, Alberto, de la O, Ana L., Karlan, Dean, and Wantchekon, Leonard. 2015. ‘Does Corruption Information Inspire the Fight or Quash the Hope? A Field Experiment in Mexico on Voter Turnout, Choice and Party Identification’. Journal of Politics 77(1):55–71.Google Scholar
Corbacho, Ana, Gingerich, Daniel W., Oliveros, Virginia, and Ruiz-Vega, Mauricio. forthcoming. ‘Corruption as a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Costa Rica’. American Journal of Political Science.Google Scholar
Damania, Richard, Fredriksson, Per G., and Mani, Muthukumara. 2004. ‘The Persistence of Corruption and Regulatory Compliance Failures: Theory and Evidence’. Public Choice 121(3–4):363–390.Google Scholar
de Figueiredo, Miguel F. P., Hidalgo, F. Daniel, and Kasahara, Yuri. 2012. ‘When Do Voters Punish Corrupt Politicians? Experimental Evidence from Brazil’. University of California, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Ferraz, Claudio, and Finan, Frederico S.. 2008. ‘Exposing Corrupt Politicians: The Effects of Brazil’s Publicly Released Audits on Electoral Outcomes’. Quarterly Journal of Economics 123(2):703–745.Google Scholar
Gingerich, Daniel W. 2014. ‘Brokered Politics in Brazil: An Empirical Analysis’. Quarterly Journal of Political Science 9(3):269–300.Google Scholar
Glaeser, Edward L., and Saks, Raven E.. 2006. ‘Corruption in America’. Journal of Public Economics 90(6):1053–1072.Google Scholar
Golden, Miriam A. 2010. ‘Puzzles of Political Corruption in Modern Advanced Democracies’. In Hideko Magara (ed.), Democracy and Accountability: Globalized Political Responsibility, 184–199. Tokyo, Japan: Fukosha.Google Scholar
Golden, Miriam A., and Picci, Lucio. 2005. ‘Proposal for a New Measure of Corruption, Illustrated with Italian Data’. Economics & Politics 17(1):37–75.Google Scholar
Hirano, Shigeo, and Snyder, James M.. 2012. ‘What Happens to Incumbents in Scandals?’. Quarterly Journal of Political Science 7:447–456.Google Scholar
Hollyer, James R., and Wantchekon, Leonard. 2015. ‘Corruption and Ideology in Autocracies’. Journal of Law, Economics and Organization 31(3):499–533.Google Scholar
Klašnja, Marko. Forthcoming. ‘Uninformed Voters and Corrupt Incumbents’. American Politics Research.Google Scholar
Klašnja, Marko. 2016. ‘Increasing Rents and Incumbency Disadvantage’. Journal of Theoretical Politics 28(2):225–265.Google Scholar
Klašnja, Marko, and Tucker, Joshua A.. 2013. ‘The Economy, Corruption, and the Vote: Evidence from Experiments in Sweden and Moldova’. Electoral Studies 32(3):536–543.Google Scholar
Klašnja, Marko, Tucker, Joshua A., and Deegan-Krause, Kevin. 2016. ‘Pocketbook vs. Sociotropic Corruption Voting’. British Journal of Political Science 46(1):67–94.Google Scholar
Lui, Francis T. 1986. ‘A Dynamic Model of Corruption Deterrence’. Journal of Public Economics 31(2):215–236.Google Scholar
Mainwaring, Scott P. 1999. Rethinking Party Systems in the Third Wave of Democratization: The Case of Brazil. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Manzetti, Luigi, and Wilson, Carole J.. 2007. ‘Why Do Corrupt Governments Maintain Public Support?’. Comparative Political Studies 40(8):949–970.Google Scholar
Mauro, Paolo. 1995. ‘Corruption and Growth’. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 110(3):681–712.Google Scholar
Mauro, Paolo. 2004. ‘The Persistence of Corruption and Slow Economic Growth’. IMF Staff Papers 51(1):1–18.Google Scholar
Meirowitz, Adam, and Tucker, Joshua A.. 2013. ‘People Power or a One-Shot Deal? A Dynamic Model of Protest’. American Journal of Political Science 57(2):478–490.Google Scholar
Menes, Rebecca. 2006. ‘Limiting the Reach of the Grabbing Hand: Graft and Growth in American Cities, 1880 to 1930’. In Edward L. Glaeser and Claudia Goldin (ed.), Corruption and Reform: Lessons from America’s Economic History , 63–93. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Mishra, Ajit. 2005. ‘Persistence of Corruption: Some Theoretical Perspectives’. World Development 34(2):349–358.Google Scholar
Pellegrini, Lorenzo, and Gerlagh, Reyer. 2008. ‘Causes of Corruption: A Survey of Cross-National Analyses and Extended Results’. Economics of Governance 9(3):245–263.Google Scholar
Quah, Jon S. T. 1994. ‘Controlling Corruption in City-States: A Comparative Study of Hong Kong and Singapore’. Crime, Law and Social Change 22(4):391–414.Google Scholar
Reed, Steven A. 1999. ‘Punishing Corruption: The Response of the Japanese Electorate to Scandals’. In Ofer Feldman (ed.), Political Psychology in Japan: Behind the Nails Which Sometimes Stick Out (and Get Hammered Down), 131–148. Commack, NY: Nova Science.Google Scholar
Reinikka, Ritva, and Svensson, Jakob. 2004. ‘Local Capture: Evidence from a Central Government Transfer Program in Uganda’. Quarterly Journal of Economics 119(2):679–705.Google Scholar
Svolik, Milan. 2013. ‘Learning to Love Democracy: Electoral Accountability, Government Performance, and the Consolidation of Democracy’. American Journal of Political Science 57(3):685–702.Google Scholar
Transparency International India. 2005. ‘India Corruption Study’. Transparency International India and Center for Media Studies, New Delhi, India.Google Scholar
Treisman, Daniel. 2007. ‘What Have We Learned About the Causes of Corruption from Ten Years of Cross-National Empirical Research?’. Annual Review of Political Science 10:211–244.Google Scholar
Welch, Susan, and Hibbing, John R.. 1997. ‘The Effects of Charges of Corruption on Voting Behavior in Congressional Elections, 1982-1990’. The Journal of Politics 59(1):226–239.Google Scholar
Zechmeister, Elizabeth J., and Zizumbo-Colunga, Daniel. 2013. ‘The Varying Political Toll of Concerns About Corruption in Good Versus Bad Economic Times’. Comparative Political Studies 46(10):1190–1218.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Klašnja supplementary material

Appendix

Download Klašnja supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 384.5 KB