" Who Doesn't? " —The Impact of Descriptive Norms on Corruption (original) (raw)

Determinants of Corruption: A Socio-psychological Analysis

In this chapter, we examine corruption as a socio-psychological phenomenon. We argue that individuals’ engagement in corrupt behaviors is more complex than a mere choice between ethical and unethical behavior. To understand the etiology of corruption, one should consider how social and institutional factors combine with psychological factors to influence individuals’ engagement in corruption. Drawing on Ajzen’s (1985) theory of planned behavior (TPB) and Bicchieri’s (2006, 2016) theory of social norms, we examine socio-psychological processes that precede corrupt behaviors. Based on our analysis, we then highlight various ways in which individuals’ propensity to engage in corruption can be reduced.

Propensities to engage in and punish corrupt behavior: Experimental evidence from Australia, India, Indonesia and Singapore

Journal of Public Economics, 2009

This paper examines cultural differences in individual-decision making in an experimental corruption game. Higher levels of exposure to corruption in daily life may promote a tolerance of corruption that is reflected in norms of behavior. We explore whether, in environments characterized by lower levels of corruption, there is both a lower propensity to engage in corrupt behavior and a higher propensity to punish corrupt behavior. Based on experiments run in Australia (Melbourne), India (Delhi), Indonesia (Jakarta) and Singapore, we find that there is a greater variation in the propensities to punish corrupt behavior than in the propensities to engage in corrupt behavior across cultures. Consistent with the existing corruption indices, the subjects in India exhibit a higher tolerance of corruption than the subjects in Australia. However, the subjects in Singapore have a higher tolerance of corruption than the subjects in Indonesia. We conjecture that this is due to the nature of the recent institutional changes in these two countries. We also vary our experimental design to examine the impact of a more effective punishment system and the effect of the perceived cost of bribery.

Do Attitudes Towards Corruption Differ Across Cultures? Experimental Evidence from Australia, India, Indonesia and Singapore

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

This paper examines cultural differences in attitudes towards corruption by analysing individual-decision making in a corrupt experimental environment. Attitudes towards corruption play a critical role in the persistence of corruption. Our experiments differentiate between the incentives to engage in corrupt behaviour and the incentives to punish corrupt behaviour and allow us to explore whether, in environments characterized by lower levels of corruption, there is both a lower propensity to engage in corrupt behaviour and a higher propensity to punish corrupt behaviour. Based on experiments run in Australia (Melbourne), India (Delhi), Indonesia (Jakarta) and Singapore, we find that there is more variation in the propensities to punish corrupt behaviour than in the propensities to engage in corrupt behaviour across cultures. The results reveal that the subjects in India exhibit a higher tolerance towards corruption than the subjects in Australia while the subjects in Indonesia behave similarly to those in Australia. The subjects in Singapore have a higher propensity to engage in corruption than the subjects in Australia. We also vary our experimental design to examine the impact of a more effective punishment system and the effect of the perceived cost of bribery.

Structure of personal values and corruption 1 Structure of personal values and corruption: An experimental analysis of decisions leading to accepting or rejecting bribery

2021

Corruption is a legal and moral contravention that generates great concern among nations due to its erosive effects on economic growth, democracy, governance, social equity and the integrity of culture. Therefore, it is necessary to know more about the multiple variables that produce and maintain this phenomenon. This article reports the results of an experimental investigation that sought to provide elements of judgment on the influence of the structure of personal values ​​on the willingness to bribe. For this, 12 couples of young university students of both sexes interacted through a game that simulated a relationship between a corrupter and a corruptible agent, with the help of a real-time communication system, mediated by an online platform, which allowed instant and bidirectional interaction. The couples were randomly constituted and played with each other under double blind. However, the interacting members of the dyad could share values ​​or vary in their axiological structu...

Social Norms in Corruption: A Bribery Experiment

2019

This paper analyzes social norms in corruption by exploring whether engagement in bribery induces costly third-party punishment. By introducing third-party punishment in a bribery experiment we disentangle social norms from other non-normative motives ̶ such as retaliation, negative reciprocity ̶ maintained merely by parties involved in corruption. We manipulate two main characteristics of bribery: the private benefits gained by corrupt actors, and the negative externality generated by bribery on passive members of society. We find that third parties punish bribers more often than the bribed, but to a lesser extent. Greater private benefits induce third parties to punish more, whereas greater negative externalities have no impact on punishment choices. We unveil the role of emphatic anger as a microdeterminant of third-party punishment. We find gender differences in punishment behavior, with females being more willing to punish the bribed than males, but to a lesser amount.

Corruption: A cross-country comparison of contagion and conformism

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2022

For successful anti-corruption policies, it is crucial to understand the basic social contract governing the interaction between people. Social norms are a key element of the social contract, but may vary across cultures. We investigate how descriptive social norms affect the development of corruption over time. In a laboratory experiment implemented in the Netherlands, Russia, Italy, and China we study a corruption game that is based on a realeffort task. To induce natural variation in descriptive norms, we vary the type of information about others' choices. Such information may lead to 'contagion'-where corruption increases in response to observing high corruption by others-or 'conformism'-where it decreases when low corruption by others is observed. Our results show evidence of contagion.

Policy Brief 2: Social norms, mental models and other behavioural drivers of petty corruption

Basel Institute on Governance Policy Briefs, 2017

This policy brief summarises the main findings and lessons learned from research on corruption, social norms and behaviours in Uganda. The empirical evidence indicates that behavioural factors associated to social practices and collective understandings play a role in shaping Ugandan citizens’ attitudes towards petty corruption and in fuelling practices such as bribery and favouritism. On the basis of the research findings, policy recommendations are put forward aiming to contribute to the development of anti-corruption interventions that incorporate behavioural insights in their design and implementation.

Policy Brief 3: Social norms, mental models and other behavioural drivers of petty corruption

Basel Institute on Governance Policy Briefs, 2017

This Policy Brief summarises the main findings and lessons learned from a research on corruption, social norms and behaviours in Rwanda. The findings show that, although Rwanda has successfully curbed corruption, favouritism continues to be used to secure preferential access to public health services. While the Rwandan experience illustrates how behavioural insights can effectively complement conventional anti-corruption approaches, further entry areas for deepening behavioural anti-corruption interventions are also identified.

The Perception of Corruption

International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 2010

Corruption and corruption perception can be considered as cultural phenomena because they depend on how a society understands the rules and what constitutes a deviation. Indeed, it does not depend only on societies but also on personal values and moral vies. While a person ...