Abstract
The aim of this paper is to explore the effects of corruption tolerance on corruption levels. Strong claims are made in the literature to the effect that tolerance of corruption is universally low. We show, however, that there are non-trivial variations in tolerance of corruption, and that these are significantly related to commonly used indices of corruption. This suggests that understanding which factors shape corruption tolerance is important. Here, our concern is with the effects of elite structures on corruption. We first ask if closeness to power affects corruption tolerance and if the general population is less tolerant than elite groups. We then ask if different elite groups — e. g., politicians and civil servants respectively — are likely to form different standards regarding corruption. To hold certain external variables constant, the paper focuses on two relatively homogeneous, low-corruption countries: Sweden and Iceland. Our findings suggest that whereas little supports the closeness to power hypothesis — the general population is not less tolerant of corruption than elites — there may be important differences in how different elite groups within these countries view corrupt activities. This has implications for how corruption can be contained.
Highlights
The growing literature on corruption has established, beyond reasonable doubt that levels of corruption vary strongly between states, regions and local governments around the world
As we have suggested, people adopt their evaluations of norms and behavior to some extent to roles and prevailing practices we should expect a) marked differences in the normative evaluations of politicians and administrators and b) political norms to prevail to a high degree in Icelandic local administration
Let us turn to our first question: does tolerance of corruption vary? Table 2 shows the results in the European Social Survey (ESS) 2004 round, when respondents were asked for their evaluations of ‘how wrong’ they think it is for public officials asking a favor/bribe for service
Summary
The growing literature on corruption has established, beyond reasonable doubt that levels of corruption vary strongly between states, regions and local governments around the world. Irrespective of corruption definitions or which measurement techniques are used, some groups of states are, by all accounts, less corrupt and others are more so. Perhaps the major challenge facing corruption research is how to disentangle causality: why is corruption greater in some political. Kyiv-Mohyla Law and Politics Journal 5 (2019). Suggested candidates for causes of corruption are many and varied. We have no ambition to review extensively this literature. We aim to explore the role of attitudes as contributing factors to variations in corruption. We ask: are corruption levels influenced by tolerance of corruption within societies?
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