Abstract
The present study aims to discuss corruption, its causes, and its persistence using the research agenda proposed by Bo Rothstein. As a rule, studies and theories have analysed corruption using structural variables like the economy, social development, and democracy, among others. Nevertheless, little has been explained about the role of other—non-structural—variables in generating and sustaining corruption, such as interpersonal/institutional trust and social dilemmas. Therefore, this study will use data obtained from the Vanderbilt University project Americas Barometer in 2014 to analyse the case of Ecuador. The objective of this paper is twofold: first, to contrast the claims of major theories of structural causes of corruption with what is observed in Ecuador, and second, to use Rothstein’s framework to assess the links between trust, social dilemmas, and corruption in the selected case study. From this analysis, we can assert that the hypotheses constructed by Rothstein are confirmed in the case of Ecuador. On the one hand, there seems to be a positive correlation between vertical and horizontal trust in the country. On the other hand, looking at the fitted models, it is also possible to claim that there is a negative association between interpersonal trust and the perception and persistence of corruption in Ecuador.
Highlights
Causas y permanencia de la corrupción, el rol de la confianza y los dilemas sociales: el caso de Ecuador
De esta forma, los objetivos del presente estudio son dos: Primero, contrastar lo que las teorías estructurales de corrupción sugieren, versus lo que se observa en el caso ecuatoriano y segundo usar las propuestas teóricas y metodológicas de Rothstein para corroborar o rechazar la correlación entre confianza, dilemas sociales y corrupción en el caso del Ecuador
On his paper “Corruption and Social Trust: Why the Fish Rots from the Head Down” (2013), the analysis focused on the relationship between vertical and horizontal—i.e., interpersonal and institutional—trust and how trust within a society is fundamental to understand corruption
Summary
The second dependent variable used to assess the persistence of corruption is related to whether citizens consider corruption something condonable under certain circumstances. This was measured on a scale from 1 to 10 by asking: “Do you think that, under certain circumstances, it is justifiable to pay a bribe? (1) Never (2) Sometimes (3) Most of the time (4) It is the only way given the current circumstances (5) Don’t know (6) No opinion” This variable offers insight on Ecuadorians’ attitudes toward the payment of bribes. A key observation is that, while most Ecuadorians perceive corruption as widespread, it seems that most of them do not justify its existence
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