"I Seen My Opportunities and I Took 'Em:" Political Corruption in the American States

Abstract

This study is an empirical examination of political corruption in the American states. Using the number of public officials who are convicted of crimes involving corruption as the dependent variable, four explanations of corruption are examined--historical/cultural, political, structural, and bureaucratic. We find that corruption is associated with historical/cultural forces, political forces (especially turnout and party competition), and bureaucratic forces (government size and policies that increase bribe opportunities). Structural factors (e.g., campaign finance reporting requirements, centralization, direct democracy) are unrelated to the incidence of corruption. Finally, the study shows some evidence that prosecution of corrupt public officials was subject to partisan and racial targeting during the Reagan administration and racial targeting during the Carter administration.