Abstract
This review critically engages with the debate on the importance of corruption for illicit tobacco trade. It proposes to solve the disagreement in the literature by advancing a nuanced analysis of how different types of corruption are linked to various forms of illicit tobacco trade. It conceptualises the role of corruption by breaking it down into necessary and sufficient conditions. The analysis shows that unlike price differential, corruption is mostly part of sufficient condition. It is a necessary condition only in the case of illicit whites whereby tobacco manufacturers are involved in one way or the other. The measurement indices and common definitions of corruption do not usually incorporate this kind of private sector corruption.
Highlights
This review critically engages with the debate on corruption as a cause and enabling factor for illicit tobacco trade
Corruption has been one of the key variables discussed among industry experts and academics, with some suggesting that corruption is central for understanding why certain countries have more problems with illicit tobacco (Gallien 2020; Merriman et al 2000; Titeca, Joossens & Raw 2011), but others reject this hypothesis, arguing that there is no empirical evidence to say that corruption plays a role (Aziani, Calderoni & Dugato 2020; Prieger & Kulick 2018)
These indices do not differentiate between political2 and private sector corruption3 or grand4 and petty corruption,5 and they aim at evaluating the level of corruption at a national level rather than looking at it as a form of transnational, extraterritorial condition
Summary
This review critically engages with the debate on corruption as a cause and enabling factor for illicit tobacco trade. Kupatadze: Corruption and Illicit Tobacco Trade single or a couple of case studies usually in the same geographic area and do not do justice to the complexity across countries and continents (see for example Lemboe & Black 2012; Zhang & Schwartz 2015). It is a necessary condition only in the case of illicit whites, whereby tobacco manufacturers are involved openly or tacitly.
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