Corruption: why and when are bribes paid? 💰

A team led by a researcher from McGill University has identified the factors that influence citizens' decisions to pay bribes to public officials. The model developed by the researchers could help authorities combat corruption.


Even in countries where this practice is widespread, "corruption is a matter of context. People consider a wide range of factors when deciding whether or not to pay a bribe," explains Aaron Erlich, associate professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University and author of a recent paper published with two other researchers in Comparative Political Science.

"We sometimes imagine that people fall into two categories: those who are corruptible and those who are not. This is probably a mistaken idea of what actually happens in developing countries and in many other countries," he says. "The notion that some people are completely corrupt is limiting. I think it is much more accurate to say that most people will offer a bribe in certain situations and that some people will offer bribes in multiple situations."

To understand why a citizen chooses to make an illicit payment in one situation and not in another, the researchers surveyed more than 3,000 people in Ukraine in 2020. The country had recently conducted large-scale anti-corruption campaigns, which had met with relative success. According to Transparency International, 38% of people reported paying a bribe in 2016, while only 26% said they had done so in 2020.

The researchers asked participants to answer questions about making illicit payments to obtain two things more quickly: a driver's license or an appointment at a state-run medical clinic. Indeed, according to surveys cited by the researchers, these services were often obtained through bribes in Ukraine: more than half of the respondents who, during the year, had received medical care or obtained a driver's license, for themselves or a family member, had paid a bribe.

The researchers found that illicit payments tend to decrease if the costs or risks of getting caught are high, or if services can be obtained without administrative hassle or from many providers.

"We therefore need to find ways to make people less likely to resort to illegal methods," argues Professor Erlich.

The researchers believe that a country or region could consider curbing corruption on its territory by first targeting one area, then proceeding step by step.

According to them, the next step would be to test their model in other countries and sectors. They believe it would be useful to study different public services to better understand how the urgency of needs, the variety of roles of public officials, and the availability of services influence the use of bribes.

References:
The study "Selective Bribery: When Do Citizens Engage in Corruption?", by Aaron Erlich, Jordan Gans-Morse, and Simeon Nichter, was published in Comparative Political Studies.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00104140241259444
The authors state that they received no financial assistance for their research or for the writing or publication of the article.