Cases Of Political Corruption Research Articles

The Role of investigative journalism in combating corruption in Kurdistan region

In this study, the role of investigative media in fighting corruption in the Kurdistan Region is examined. In order to show the role of the media in fighting corruption and to determine the degree of corruption, the journalistic reports and investigations of the programs (Bnkoll- investigate ) and (Snduqy Rash- Black box) on Kurdistan 24 and Diplomatic Magazine were investigated The channels are located in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and, throughout the months of 2021, for all reports on corruption in both fists of the study.
 This study is a descriptive study, non-analytical methods were used to analyze the content of the research articles, and the analysis is presented in several aspects, namely: identifying the types of corruption and including issues related to each type In the reports received. In the assessment, the researcher mapped the geographical boundaries of the research reports.
 The results showed that although the research reports worked on identifying issues of corruption, to fight corruption, in the first place working on cases (financial and economic corruption), by (54%), but did not work on political corruption cases. While their main objective was to fight corruption (33.7%), and, in exposing corruption, there are differences in geographical boundaries, so that Sulaimani province has done the most work (37.8%), compared to Erbil province (13). 5%), and the results revealed that they worked to some extent within the characteristics of the research reports.

Korupsi Elit Partai Politik di Era Reformasi

This article aims to analyze the corruption committed by party elites in the reform era. The problem is focused on cases of criminal acts of corruption involving a number of Indonesian politicians from 2016 to 2021 with data on various cases of political corruption carried out collaboratively by politicians, bureaucrats, and law enforcement officers. Political corruption is characterized by a state corporatic, because it is initiated by the political elite. In order to approach this problem, the reference to the theory of kleptocracy and political oligarchy as a result of research from Marwing (2021). qualitative. This study concludes that the factor of corruption comes from human greed and waste. Another factor is that it comes from outside the person, because the current corruption is sometimes a factor for coercing the perpetrators because they are bound in a system. Political parties are the dominant entities that influence the emergence of corruption. Because the findings of political corruption state that corruption is carried out to finance political activities, both personally for party cadres, as well as for party political activities.

COVERAGE OF PAKISTANI PRINT MEDIA ABOUT TRANSPARENCY OF JUSTICE: A CASE OF PAKISTANI JUSTICE SYSTEM REGARDING CORRUPTION

This research explores how leading English newspapers “Dawn”, and the Urdu newspaper “Jang” covered the judicial proceedings of political corruption cases in the light of Agenda Setting and Framing theories. News stories on the front and back pages and editorials of these two newspapers for two years (December 1, 206 to December 1, 2018) were selected. Corruption Cases (Panama gate case, Ephedrine case, Al- Azizia steel mill, Ashiana Iqbal Scam, Saaf Pani Case, Paragon housing society case, Fake Bank Accounts, and Nandipur case) were taken for data collection. The researcher used the Content Analysis method for gathering data. The Result indicates that Daily Dawn and Daily Jung covered judicial proceedings of mega political corruption cases differently. The findings reveal that Daily Dawn blamed all sides for corruption while Daily Jung blamed state institutions. The view of Daily Dawn in this regard is Objective, while the idea of Daily Jung is Subjective. The researcher suggested that the dailies should play a neutral role, and the content of dailies should be critical despite being absurd or baseless. Moreover, Dailies should convey reality to the public. Keywords: Political Corruption cases, Newspapers Coverage, Judicial Proceedings, Media Activism, Judicial Activism

Factors influencing the structure of municipal taxation. Special reference to political corruption

ABSTRACT There are few studies that relate tax revenues to corruption at the municipal level due to their great complexity and the difficulty in obtaining data. Continuing the research we started years ago, the main objective of this article is to analyse whether municipal political corruption influences some or all tax revenues. A panel database of all Spanish municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants is compiled for the period 2002–2013. The most outstanding result is that municipalities with cases of corruption obtained higher revenues in construction-related taxes than those where there have been no political corruption cases, which shows the close relationship between this sector of economic activity and political corruption.

Modeling Political Corruption in Spain

Political corruption is a universal phenomenon. Even though it is a cross-country reality, its level of intensity and the manner of its effect vary worldwide. In Spain, the demonstrated political corruption cases that have been echoed by the media in recent years for their economic, judicial and social significance are merely the tip of the iceberg as regards a problem hidden by many interested parties, plus the shortage of the means to fight against it. This study models and quantifies the population at risk of committing political corruption in Spain by identifying and quantifying the drivers that explain political corruption. Having quantified the problem, the model allows changes to be made in parameters, as well as fiscal, economic and legal measures being simulated, to quantify and better understand their impact on Spanish citizenship. Our results suggest increasing women’s leadership positions to mitigate this problem, plus changes in the political Parties’ Law in Spain and increasing the judiciary system’s budget.

Entre políticos y criminales: corrupción política en Colombia 2013-2018

Corruption is a crime that generates political hardships, particularly to the construction of the State and democracy. The latter, since it restricts the ability of institutions to promote the general welfare through the creation of secret powers that hinder the idea of democracy as a public power that performs before the public. Thus, political corruption creates a secret power, controlled by public officials and professional politicians who favor diverse criminal networks associated with other crimes; affecting like this the institutions and the principle of publicity in democracy. The objective of the research is to analyze political corruption in Colombia between 2013 and 2018 from the perspective of Transnational Organized Crime (TOC). For this purpose, to address political corruption as a transnational crime, it is necessary to overcome the phenomenon of the narcotization of crime and recognize that political corruption is also a relevant crime; which functions in a network and is associated with other criminal dynamics to seek economic benefits for the State or to affect it. The methodological approach was qualitative and, the phenomenological-hermeneutical method was used in the analysis of historical information collected since the 16th century that served as a context to establish the relationship of corruption with other crimes in the country and the different cases of corruption analyzed in the period of study. Only those cases that fit the analysis of transnational corruption, because of links to other networks are considered. It is evident that between 2013 and 2018 there were cases of political corruption with criminal links associated with drug trafficking, money laundering, and prostitution, among others. However, several of these facts do not seem to have the same informational relevance as typical cases of bribery, illegal campaign financing, or contracting cartels. This is understood as an opportunity to continue deepening these types of investigations.

Political Party’s Vicarious Liability in Political Corruption Cases in Indonesia

Corruption in Indonesia is distinctive in itself because of the involvement of politicians who sit as state administrators, then from various anti-corruption community groups in Indonesia, this type of corruption that contained political dimension is known as political corruption in terms of national criminal law happened frequently in Indonesia, and since it is done by the power holders, the state financial losses caused by political corruption are relatively huge in number, and the factual fact of the state financial losses in major political corruption cases could not be recovered by the Indonesian General Attorney as the party representing the state, this situation represents violation of the social and economic rights of the Indonesian people, and one of the objectives of the Anti-Corruption Law for various reasons according to Article 18 paragraph (1) letter b of the Anti-Corruption Law, is the recovery of state financial losses.

A Dynamic Model for Analysing Partisan Political Corruption in Local Government: the Spanish Experience

Partisan political corruption behaviour has not been properly examined in the academic literature. Accordingly, the main aim of this paper is to determine the nature of the relationship between corruption and political ideology, doing so via a novel dynamic partisan approach which will enable us to measure the influence of the passage of time on the likelihood of the existence of political corruption and to determine whether this likelihood is stronger or weaker in progressive vs. conservative governments. This approach will also allow us to determine the influence of the different explanatory factors, among which are the creation of networks with related private companies by means of reiterative contracts, public-private agreements and other public-private networks, addressed in such a way that private companies with specific interests, political factors (political fragmentation and gender) and the long-term neighbourhood effect are all considered. Survival analysis is applied to 747 cases of political corruption that occurred during the period 2002- 2014 in Spanish local government. Our findings show that a significantly larger number of cases have been identified of corruption by conservative than by progressive parties. Moreover, the cases identified of corruption by conservative parties remain undetected and unprosecuted for longer.

The Pernicious Consequences Of Political Corruption In Indonesia

Political corruption is an ethical and juridical deviation committed by people with positions of political power. Political corruption has a more structured system than general corruption cases, because political corruption is committed to satisfy the interests of political parties. Political corruption cases are commonplace in a country where political corruption is rampant. This is a normative legal research, using a case approach, conceptual approach, and statutory approach, as well as qualitative analysis. Based on this analysis, it is conclusive that political corruption is an action carried out by political elites or state government officials that has an impact on the country's political and economic situation. People and or parties who have political positions usually commit these acts. Political corruption can be in the form of abuse of authority, granting influence, lobbying, self-enrichment, vote-buying, and election fraud. In terms of effectiveness of the law, the pervasive political corruption in Indonesia is attributed to ineffective law enforcement related to political corruption. In fact, some former corruption convicts may become a corruption recidivist simply because the law enforcement of political corruption fails to have any deterrent effect due to the disharmony between laws and regulations related to political corruption. The rampant political corruption practices result in violations against the principles of good governance. Keywords: Legal consequences, political corruption Konsekuensi Buruk Korupsi Politik di Indonesia Abstrak Korupsi politik adalah penyimpangan etika dan juga penyimpangan yuridis yang dilakukan oleh orang-orang yang memiliki posisi dan kekuasaan politik. Korupsi politik memiliki sistem yang lebih terstruktur dibandingkan kasus korupsi umum karena korupsi politik ini dilakukan demi memenuhi kepentingan partai politik. Kasus korupsi politik merupakan hal yang lumrah ditemukan di negara yang korupsi politiknya merajalela. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian hukum normatif dengan menggunakan pendekatan kasus, konseptual, dan perundang-undangan, serta analisis kualitatif. Berdasarkan analisis tersebut, dapat disimpulkan bahwa korupsi politik adalah tindakan yang dilakukan oleh elit politik atau pejabat pemerintah yang berdampak pada situasi politik dan ekonomi negara. Biasanya orang dan/atau partai yang memiliki jabatan politik yang melakukan perbuatan tersebut. Korupsi politik dapat berupa penyalahgunaan wewenang, pemberian pengaruh, lobi, pengayaan diri, pembelian suara, hingga kecurangan pemilu. Dari sisi efektifitas hukum, maraknya korupsi politik di Indonesia disebabkan oleh tidak efektifnya penegakan hukum terkait korupsi politik. Bahkan, beberapa mantan narapidana korupsi bisa menjadi residivis korupsi hanya karena penegakan hukum korupsi politik tidak memberikan efek jera akibat disharmonisasi antara peraturan perundang-undangan terkait korupsi politik. Maraknya praktik korupsi politik mengakibatkan pelanggaran terhadap prinsip-prinsip tata pemerintahan yang baik Kata kunci: Konsekuensi Hukum; Korupsi Politik

DISKRIMINASI HUKUM DALAM PEMBERANTASAN KORUPSI POLITIK DI DAERAH


 Corruption is an act to against the law and moral because it is considered as an act abusing the power and authority for personal’s benefit, group or other parties to take advantage each other either economically or politically. Due to perpetrators of corruption is a public official, the type of corruption is considered as political corruption. One of many cases of political corruption in regional level is corruption on social assistance fund.
 The reality of social assistance fund corruption case disclosure in many regionals seems difficult. The sociology aspect takes a part in law enforcement such as stratification, morphology and intervention variables. Stratification which is a formal position of somebody, friendship between law enforcers and the suspect, and intervention of superior to the subordinate in legal institution confirm the legal discrimination in corruption act of social assistance fund.
 Therefore, to suppress the rate of corrupt behavior in regional level, it needs the legal enforcement reconstruction started from legal enforcer side to the encouragement of legal enforcer reformation in regional level. The legal enforcer reformation should emphasize on the importance of rolling job system at the top management in the legal enforcement institution. This system can enrich experience and perception, and to sharpen the skills. On the other hand, it can minimize the occurrence of morphology aspect between the legal enforcer and local elites. Besides, the involvement of justice collaborator in corruption eradication should be implemented in order to reveal the political corruption case which is complicated and neatly covered.

A MÍDIA COMO ATOR POLÍTICO: UMA ANÁLISE DE TEXTOS DA REVISTA VEJA SOBRE CASOS DE CORRUPÇÃO POLÍTICA

RESUMO Este trabalho analisa as relações entre mídia e política em textos de uma representante da grande mídia impressa brasileira, a revista Veja, referentes a casos de corrupção política nos governos Lula e Dilma. O objetivo é identificar recursos linguístico-discursivos mobilizados na produção de seus textos que reforcem a defesa de que seu uso da linguagem é informativo e imparcial ou de que representam a voz da população. Ao discutir a relação entre o campo midiático e campo político sob uma perspectiva antagônica do político, vimos que o caráter informativo de Veja só se realiza na medida em que seus jornalistas se posicionam e a constroem enquanto tal. Além disso, o fato de as representações discursivas que Veja faz em seus textos convergirem para a identidade dos atores políticos revela marcas de antagonismo que incidem diretamente na construção de novas identidades. O artigo também leva à ideia de que a mídia tem participação no embate político, seja como um adversário, ou não, mas sempre como um ator político. Para essa análise, adotaram-se como referenciais teórico-metodológicos o Sistema da AVALIATIVIDADE, de Jim Martin e Peter White, e a teoria social de Chantal Mouffe sobre o político e democracia agonística.

Romania: Perils of a “Perfect Euro-Model” of Judicial Council

AbstractThe last three decades have brought important changes to the Romanian judicial system, especially concerning the struggle for independence and autonomy within the separation of powers equation. The internal and external context – i.e. the transition to democracy, after 1989, and the intention to join the European Union – determined an orientation towards the “Euro-Model” of judicial self-government. This has not come without difficulties and perils, both from the inside and from the outside. The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the Romanian system of judicial self-government in the context of these perils and emphasizes the link between the attempts to reinforce judicial independence and the anti-corruption fight, required by the supervision mechanism under which Romania has been placed at the moment of the EU accession. The increase in the number and intensity of such perils in the recent period has coincided with an increase in the number of high-level political corruption cases that have resulted in convictions. The article also discusses recent changes in the laws of the judiciary, which still are, partially, under parliamentary scrutiny, but which have raised serious concerns at the European level, as regards the progress made by Romania in achieving the objectives included in the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.

Already innocent: radioactive bribes, white-collar corruption and nuclear expertise in Brazil

ABSTRACTThe ‘father’ of Brazil’s nuclear energy programme since the 1970s, Vice-Admiral Othon, was released from prison in October of 2017 to await appeal of a 43-year sentence issued in 2016. Admiral Othon had been found guilty of organising fraudulent financial activities, engaging in political bribes and rigging and inflating construction contracts related to the construction of Brazil’s third nuclear reactor, Angra 3. Othon’s corruption sentencing coincided with impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff of the Workers Party (PT), also accused of financial manipulation and of having knowledge of political corruption in the Petrobras case known as Car Wash. Some on the political left have read Dilma’s impeachment as a successful strategy employed by the right wing to diminish centre-left political power. While political corruption in the fields of energy production is similarly the centrepiece of both cases, they are perceived differently. Comparing the two, the concept of nuclearity as developed by Gabrielle Hecht helps explain why Othon received considerable support from across the political spectrum. His supporters framed his case as one being managed by external foreign interests supposedly keen on preventing Brazil from harnessing its nuclear energy potential and, implicitly, of disregarding its national security risks and needs. Political corruption cases can either animate or neutralise public and moral sentiment. Perceptions of the Othon case challenge the notion that the anti-corruption campaign is merely a right-wing attempt to undermine the left. The case reveals how corruption thrives under the cover of nuclearity and in large-scale construction projects relevant to national security.

اتجاهات التغطیة الصحفیة لقضایا الفساد السیاسى فى الفترة من 30 یونیو 2012 وحتى 30 یونیو 2013

ملخص الدراسة سعت الدراسة الراهنة إلى الکشف عن مدى التزام جريدة الأهرام کجريدة قومية بالمصداقية والحيادية والتوازن فى تناول ومعالجة قضايا الفساد السياسى خلال الفترة من 30 يونيو 2012 وحتى 30 يونيو 2013، وقيام ثورة 30 يونيو، وقد انطلقت الدراسة فى إطارها النظرى، من معطيات نظرية المسئولية الإجتماعية والأخلاقية لوسائل الإعلام Social Responsibility Theory، وذلک من خلال تطبيق استمارة تحليل المضمون على عينة من أعداد جريدة الأهرام خلال الفترة من 30 يونيو 2012 وحتى 30 يونيو 2013، فضلا عن إجراء مقابلات شخصية مع (15) صحفى بجريدة الأهرام موضع الدراسة. وقد کشفت نتائج الدراسة عن وجود تأثير على التغطية الصحفية لقضايا الفساد السياسى خلال فترة الدراسة، خاصة بعد خضوع المؤسسات القومية للتغيرات الصحفية بعد انتخاب الرئيس الأسبق محمد مرسى رئيسا للبلاد. Trends in press coverage of political corruption cases from 30 June 2012 to 30 June 2013 Abstract: The current study sought to reveal the extent of Al Ahram's commitment as a national newspaper to the credibility, impartiality and balance in dealing with and addressing political corruption issues during the period from June 30, 2012 to June 30, 2013, and the June 30 Revolution. The study, Social and ethical issues of the media through the application of a content analysis form on a sample of the Al-Ahram newspaper from June 30, 2012 to June 30, 2013, as well as personal interviews with 15 journalists in Al-Ahram, . The results of the study revealed an impact on press coverage of political corruption cases during the study period, especially after the national institutions subjected to press changes after the election of former President Mohamed Morsi as president. Keywords: journalistic coverage – Issues of corruption – political corruption.

Alcances y obstáculos de la accountability mediática en América Latina tras la Tercera Ola de la democracia

One of the most classic normative functions of media in democracies is to be vigilant of power, both to serve as defenders of the citizens and for the public opinion to make correct decisions. This paper discusses from a critical perspective the accountability of the media in Latin America from the Third Wave of Democracy up to date, which has been important in denouncing and investigating certain cases of political corruption, but has been limited for two reasons: the first is the high concentration of ownership of regional media systems, have led to a very low level of informative pluralism which calls into question the true scope and intentions of the surveillance that the media can carry out of power and its contribution to democracy. On the other hand, the second reason is the reforms carried out in recent years by the leadership of some progressive or populist governments that have not created a proper environment for this function, and on the contrary, have provided shortcomings for the freedom of information, a basic principle for media accountability. As a conclusion, this paper reflects on the importance of promoting informative pluralism and freedom of expression as the basis of media surveillance of power in the Latin American region.

Political corruption

AbstractThe corruption of public officials and institutions is generally regarded as wrong. But in what exactly does this form of corruption consist and what kind of wrong does it imply? This article aims to take stock of the current philosophical discussion of the different senses in which political corruption is generally wrong, beyond the specific negative legal, economic, and social costs it may happen to have in specific circumstances. Political corruption is usually presented as a pathology of the public order. Therefore, the senses in which political corruption has been presented as wrong have varied depending on the normative theory of the public order that is presupposed. In this article, we offer a critical presentation of two major interpretations of the wrongfulness of political corruption that draw respectively on a neo‐republican and a liberal account of the public order. Finally, we show how the analytical distinction between these approaches has important normative implications for the identification of relevant cases of political corruption.

Comparative grand corruption and protection pacts among elites: the cases of Ao Man Long in Macao and Hui Si-Yan in Hong Kong

ABSTRACTAlthough Transparency International has consistently ranked the governments of both the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR), both under the sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), much higher on the clean governance scale than the PRC itself, the reality is that the two special administrative regions witnessed two prominent cases of political corruption comparable to the mainland corruption. These were the Ao Man Long case in Macao and the Rafael Hui Si-yan scandal in Hong Kong. This paper examines the two cases of political corruption in both Macao and Hong Kong and makes comparisons and contrasts between them. It argues that individual greed contributed to the two cases of high-level bureaucratic (grand) corruption in Macao and Hong Kong, implying that institutional safeguards against corruption, such as the establishment of anti-corruption commissions, and the scrutiny of the mass media, are by no means adequate. In other words, institutional mechanisms against corruption in the HKSAR and MSAR do have loopholes that need to be plugged. Moreover, protection pacts between a minority of government officials and the business elites can be formed because of their close personal connections, strengthening the possibility of grand corruption.

Building Local Integrity Systems in Southern Europe: the case of urban local corruption in Spain

From 1997 to 2007, Spain suffered from major cases of political corruption associated with local urban development. To analyse their causes, this article examines the institutional mechanisms designed to monitor and control the performance of local policy-makers and to ensure they operated independently from private influence. It also analyses their actual effectiveness with reference to particular cases of local corruption unveiled during that decade. The Spanish case shows that local representatives had a large amount of power in distributing financial gains within the municipality, but faced little pressure to account for their actions. It argues that insufficient control mechanisms on the activities of local representatives from 1997 to 2007 can adequately explain the intensity and spread of local corruption in Spain.Points for practitionersThe article contributes to a better understanding of the factors and the causes that explain local corruption, particularly in countries where local governments fit with the ‘strong-mayor’ type. Following the Local Integrity System framework, it provides a strategy to analyse the role and impact of control mechanisms, distinguishing between internal and external controls, and administrative and judicial controls. The article also helps to understand, and presents evidence of, the mismatch between ‘formal’ institutional mechanisms on the one hand, and their actual implementation and effects on the other.

French Polynesia

French Polynesia Lorenz Gonschor (bio) The frequent making and unmaking of political alliances by opportunist politicians, resulting in regularly occurring ousters of governments since 2004, continued during the review period, with one successful motion of no confidence in late 2009 and another change of majority in the assembly in 2010. Yet none of these events represented anything substantially new. The ongoing chaotic situation continued to annoy the French government, which by mid-2010 was planning yet another revision of the territory's organic law. [End Page 215] Meanwhile, the economic situation is further deteriorating. Before this inevitable round of the political debacle began, however, public attention in Tahiti during the beginning of the review period was turned for a while to the long overdue efforts by the French judiciary to examine some of the earlier misdeeds of leading politicians. Most prominently, the investigation of corruption charges against Senator Gaston Flosse intensified in the second half of 2009 at a pace never seen before. (Former President Flosse held office as the country's top elected official under various titles 1982-1987; 1991-2004; Nov 2004-Feb 2005; Feb-April 2008.) Among other things, Flosse was accused of receiving bribes amounting to several million euros from French businessman Hubert Haddad. Because some of the payments were apparently masked as payments for advertisements in the French Polynesia telephone directory, as well as in the onboard magazine of the territorial airline Air Tahiti Nui, the corruption plot became known as the "phone book affair." In connection with this affair, various government departments, banks, offices, residences, and the headquarters of Flosse's party, Tahoeraa Huiraatira (People's Rally), were searched by the authorities, incriminating materials were seized, and enough evidence was gathered to arrest several officials and businessmen and place them in detention. By July 2009, the detained included Geffry Salmon, the former director of the territorial post office and Air Tahiti Nui; Flosse's secretary Melba Ortas; Haddad's business partner Michel Yonker; and Haddad himself. Another former postal director, Alphonse Teriierooiterai, who had been detained earlier, was released in July pending further investigations (TPM, Aug 2009). However, the principal suspect in the affair, Flosse himself, was initially protected from investigations because of his parliamentary immunity as a senator. In late June, the prosecutor's office formally demanded the lifting of Flosse's immunity, and on 22 July, the Senate granted a partial lift so that he could be interrogated for a short while in Paris a few days later. Because increasing evidence was accumulating, in late August the prosecutor's office once more demanded the lifting of the senator's immunity (TPM, Aug 2010, Sept 2010). The intensification of these judicial inquiries coincided with the appointment of José Thorel as the new public prosecutor on 31 August. During his first few months in office, Thorel proved that he was much more determined to prosecute political corruption cases than his predecessor Jean Bianconi, whom some suspected of being a crony of former French President Jacques Chirac and therefore rather inclined to protect Flosse and his collaborators (TPM, March 2010). Besides the "phone book affair," judicial investigations were also conducted into the activities of the former presidential intelligence service, staffed with retired French secret service agents, which Flosse had illegally set up during his presidency in order to carry out surveillance and spying operations on his political opponents during the 1990s and early 2000s (TPM, Sept 2009). [End Page 216] A third matter, dubbed the "sushi affair," involved the embezzlement of public funds to pay for an exclusive party hosted in the presidential palace to celebrate the expected election victory of Tahoeraa in May 2004 (a miscalculation, since the elections were ultimately won by Flosse's opponents and marked the end of his semi-authoritarian regime). On 24 September, for this "affair," Flosse received a one-year suspended prison sentence, a fine of more than one million CFP francs (US$10,000), and one year of ineligibility for public office, to be effective immediately (meaning he would lose his position as senator, and thereby his immunity). However, the senator's attorneys managed to obtain a delay by lodging a second appeal (TPM, Oct 2009). As...

An Economic Analysis of Political Corruption and Punishment in France, 1980-2006

This paper investigates the association between corruption and political power, using individual level data on political corruption cases tried in France during the period 1980-2006. We test the hypothesis that corruption conviction and severity of punishment are negatively associated with political power. Our study shows that persons affiliated to a political party, particularly the ruling party, and holding high positions such as a minister or a member of parliament are less likely to be convicted in corruption cases and if convicted, they face less severe punishment. The inefficiency of the French law enforcement system in political corruption cases is also brought out.