Is privatization related to corruption? An empirical analysis of European countries

Political Determinants of Privatisation Reforms: A Comparative Analysis in Europe

“…For example, privatised companies in some countries of Latin America have fallen into the hands of large groups and upper-class entrepreneurs, worsened working conditions and the prices of certain services have tended to increase (Kikeri and Nellis, 2004). It has also been empirically found that privatisation can have negative consequences in terms of unemployment, inequality and corruption (Cuadrado-Ballesteros and Peña-Miguel, 2018; Knott and Miller, 2006; Overman, 2016; Peña-Miguel and Cuadrado-Ballesteros, 2019).…”

Corruption research: A need for an integrated approach

“…Privatization is often researched for its effects on corruption levels and the research argues that privatization can exacerbate corruption by muddling the boundaries between the private and public, and private contracts can worsen the corruption risk and perceptions (Belousova et al, 2016;Doig and Wilson, 1998;Heywood, 1997Heywood, , 2002Kamal et al, 2018;Khlif et al, 2016). Others have argued that privatization is correlated with the decrease of overall corruption levels (Kaufmann and Siegelbaum, 1997;Koyuncu et al, 2010;Peña Miguel and Cuadrado-Ballesteros, 2018). Still others have argued that privatization can both increase the risks of corruption and decrease the perception of corruption at the same time (Martimort and Straub, 2006).…”

Partisan and Electoral Cycles in Privatisation

“…Baber and Sen (1986) observed that parties of all ideologies address budgetary discipline policies in the years immediately following their election, because voters have a negative opinion about such unpopular reforms, which may negatively affect their voting decisions. Privatisation could be seen as a debated reform because of its controversial effects on some socio-economic factors, such as welfare, equity, employment and corruption (Birdsall and Nellis, 2003; Cuadrado-Ballesteros and Peña-Miguel, 2018; Kikeri and Nellis, 2004; Peña-Miguel and Cuadrado-Ballesteros, 2019). Accordingly, considering privatisation as a controversial reform, we could expect privatisations to be implemented after an election, such as was the case of British Telecom after the 1983 elections (Clifton et al, 2011).…”