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Preventing Corruption by Promoting Trust – Insights from Behavioral Science

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... Even if corruption occurs at the individual level, its reduction (or elimination) would require greater scale costs because preventing and controlling isolated cases is expensive (Graf Lambsdorff, 2015). ...
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The purpose is to identify and analyze some innovations in public services, PSI, between 2019 and 2022 to evaluate their attempts to deter corruption in a context where the current government’s Mexican public sector has been improving its capacity to fight corruption as the most critical problem. The research is designed to describe 12 PSI selected from the national level. Their innovativeness is measured through an INDICO index adapted from technology firms, which mainly has added a perception of its public value besides their use value. Corruption is measured based on the neo-institutional approach on three axes: public–private relations, its organization, and the agents’ behavior. The question is to measure the impact of the innovations in deterring corruption, which is estimated by the difference in magnitude between the current and the previous one. The findings are:The neo-institutional theory highlights corruption-related aspects rooted in public–private relations, however, complemented with social and management approaches. The INDICO index measures, based on a pre-established 10-point quantitative maximum scale distributed between components on capacity -knowledge of the service, training, design, peer evaluation through external links- and on innovation results in public services—its legitimization through public value, and its possible replication (diffusion), which an expert in the field of innovation qualitatively evaluates. The impact of the selected Public Service Innovations shows that there is a positive effect in reducing the level of corruption. The more systemic or institutionalized corruption is, the more difficult it is to develop effective strategies proving their long-term value. The PSIs have been managed by the government’s leadership founded on legitimate authority, secured from the victory in the 2018 elections in Mexico, enabling it to put forward its top-to-bottom anti-corruption program. A more extended period, a group of experts, and more cases are desirable to assess PSI sustainability. However, the methodology could be extended to other contexts for policymakers or practitioners in public services and corruption.
... 41, nº 1, pp . 100-116, January-March/2021 Behavioral economics of corruption and its implications Economia comportamental da corrupção e suas implicações such as political factors, institutional signals, moral commitments, among many others (Rose-Ackerman and Palifka, 2016;Lambsdorff, 2015;Carvalho and Silva 2016;Silva, 1996). To complicate matters, the definition and measurement of corruption is often the target of criticism and questioning. ...
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This paper holds that the standard economic accounts of corruption based on expected costs and benefits are insufficient to understand and to tackle dishonesty in the real world. It embarks on a survey of the literature to discuss the major roles automatic judgments and decisions, as well as cognitive biases and social preferences might play in deviations from honest behavior. The paper further discusses the implications of behavioral economics to the debate over how to fight corruption and foster integrity.
... The task of explaining corruption is a complex one. This is partly so because corruption refers to a multifaceted phenomenon transcending economic incentives, such as political factors, institutional signals, moral commitments, among many others (Rose-Ackerman and Palifka, 2016;Lambsdorff 2015, Carvalho and Silva 2016, Silva 1996. To complicate matters, the definition and measurement of corruption is often the target of criticism and questioning. ...
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This paper holds that the standard economic accounts of corruption based on expected costs and benefits are insufficient to understand and to tackle dishonesty in the real world. It embarks on a survey of the literature to discuss the major roles automatic judgments and decisions, as well as cognitive biases and social preferences might play in deviations from honest behavior. The paper further discusses the implications of behavioral economics to the debate over how to fight corruption and foster integrity. JEL Classification: B40; B41; D90; D91.
... The task of explaining corruption is a complex one. This is partly so because corruption refers to a multifaceted phenomenon transcending economic incentives, such as political factors, institutional signals, moral commitments, among many others (Rose-Ackerman and Palifka, 2016;Lambsdorff 2015, Carvalho and Silva 2016, Silva 1996. To complicate matters, the definition and measurement of corruption is often the target of criticism and questioning. ...
Article
Full-text available
This paper holds that the standard economic accounts of corruption based on expected costs and benefits are insufficient to understand and to tackle dishonesty in the real world. It embarks on a survey of the literature to discuss the major roles automatic judgments and decisions, as well as cognitive biases and social preferences might play in deviations from honest behavior. The paper further discusses the implications of behavioral economics to the debate over how to fight corruption and foster integrity. JEL Classification: B40; B41; D90; D91.
... When economic theory analyses how the risks connected with a corruption contract are eliminated, models are usually presented where corruption contracts relate to a previously established legal contract (e. g. Lambsdorff, 2007Lambsdorff, , 2015. The main aim of the article is to develop the opposite approach and show the model where a corruption contract can be based on the mutual dependency and extortion and that it creates space for other contracts (both legal and illegal, respectively moral and immoral). ...
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Corruption contracts are, throughout the democratic world, illegal and considered immoral. Their participants thus cannot use standard procedures to find a second party, to negotiate the content of the contract, to check if it performs what was promised, and to enforce the promises. This increases the risks associated with the contract. Illegality or immorality of the contract makes both parties more vulnerable – each party can threaten to reveal the contract and denounce the second party. Connecting a corruption contract with a previously established legal contract is usually seen as the best way to reduce risks and to reinforce the corruption contract. Owing to legal contacts and contracts, potential parties interested in corruption know where they should seek a counterparty and what to offer. At the same time, the corruption contract is tied to legal contracts, and failure to fulfil conditions of the corruption contract may put such legal contract at risk, therefore there is a higher probability that both parties to the corruption contract would fulfil what was promised and that there will be no extortion by any of the parties to demand additional fulfilment after the end of the corruption contract or that the corruption contract will not be disclosed. This paper presents the opposite approach in which a corruption contract is established as the first and it creates the base for further often legal but immoral contracts. All contracts lead to the mutually advantageous affinity of all its participants who often become members of corruption networks. The article presents the model when a blackmailed or dependent person must participate in corruption contracts, otherwise, it faces serious problems. But sooner or later, participation will begin to bring him benefits, so he becomes dependent on the network, although initially, he had moral inhibitions to participate in its activities. The subjects looking a counterparty of the corruption contract thus often create the environment of dependency and blackmailing and when people that are obliged to corruption lose their scruples and they see corruption as the common behaviour. Our model comes from real corruption networks in the Czech Republic. Some of them are briefly analysed. Theory of corruption must pay higher attention to all factors contributing to the spread of corruption behaviour, including mutual dependence and extortion Keywords: blackmailing, corruption, corruption networks, corruption risks, mutual dependency
... Permanent vigilance becomes merely an exercise in the management of distrust as regaining confidence through constant surveillance and punishment is not possible (Krastev, 2013). Everything that is not visible automatically falls under suspicion and putting everyone under constant suspicion may in fact encourage distrust in others (Graf Lambsdorff, 2015). ...
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