Corruption and Trust: Theoretical Considerations and Evidence From Mexico

Abstract

The growing empirical literature on political corruption shows trust (interpersonal and political) to be both cause and consequence of corruption: a conclusion that largely builds on studies using cross-national measures of corruption based on perceptions of corruption rather than actual experience, raising questions of endogeneity. The lack of trust fed by corruption is considered critical in that it undermines government efforts to mobilize society to help fight corruption and leads the public to routinely dismiss government promises to fight corruption. After disaggregating the major concepts, this article empirically explores the relationship linking corruption and trust in Mexico based on data from the 2004 Americas Barometer survey. The authors discover a powerful mutual causality between perceptions of corruption and trust in political institutions that suggests that rooting out perceptions of corruption or shoring up trust in public institutions will be an extremely difficult project for anyone who takes on the task.

Merit, Tenure, and Bureaucratic Behavior: Evidence From a Conjoint Experiment in the Dominican Republic

“…Whether or not public servants engage in corrupt behavior alters the amount of state resources available for public service delivery, as well as the trust citizens place in government (see, e.g., Morris & Klesner, 2010;S. Rose-Ackerman, 1999).…”

Determinants of Corruption in Kenya: Born and Bred to Bribe

“…Rabl & Kuhlmann (2009) noted that rationalisation may possess potential determinant of corrupt behaviour. In yet another study, trust was found to have a mutual causality with corruption (Morris & Klesner, 2010). Personal characteristics such as gender, marital status, education, labour, religion, and perception on democratic state of a nation have also been found to influence individual's perception on corruption (Melgar, Rossi, & Smith, Perceptions of Corruption in a Cross-Country Perspective: Why are Some Individuals More Corruption Than Others?, 2010).…”

Katangale or kuba?: development assistance and the experiences and perceptions of local corruption in Malawi

“…It is also correlated with a reduction in belief that democracy is effective (Anderson and Tverdova 2003). Experiences of corruption have also been shown to reduce trust in government officials (Seligson 2002;Anderson and Tverdova 2003;Eek and Rothstein 2009;Morris and Klesner 2010). These effects may be strongest among the poor (Manzetti and Wilson 2007).…”