Institutional corruption in Russian universities

Russia is about to become an academic superpower, which makes it very successful at least in the context of the BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China. After various effective reforms, including the Bologna process and the modernization of admissions procedures, the Russian government is now working hard on remedying corruption in higher education

Korruption und informelle Praktiken im russischen Geschäftsleben: Fallbeispiele aus der Sicht ausländischer Unternehmer

Korruption wird als eines der größten Hindernisse für die Wirtschaftsentwicklung und auch für die Tätigkeit ausländischer Investoren in Russland angesehen. Zentrale Probleme sind in diesem Zusammenhang die selektive Anwendung von Recht, die Unsicherheit von Eigentumsrechten, die Belastung durch Bestechungszahlungen und die Abhängigkeit von Netzwerken. Zu beachten ist aber auch, dass Korruption im russischen Kontext teilweise mit gesellschaftlichen Fragen wie der sozialen Verantwortung von Unternehmen verknüpft wird

Managing Business Corruption: Targeting Non-Compliant Practices in Systemically Corrupt Environments

This article focuses on strategies of ‘managing business corruption’ at the firm level and offers insights for practitioners in systemically corrupt environments. Our study of 110 CEOs and owners of companies operating in Russia tested a new, ethnographic approach to managing corruption at a firm level. We conceptualize ‘managing business corruption’ as devising and implementing strategies that mitigate corruption-related risks in an effective way. We argue that such strategies have to target specific non-compliant practices, identified bottom-up, yet also amount to a pragmatic, problem-solving framework at the firm level, implemented top-down. Leadership is a key factor which defines effectiveness of corruption management in systemically corrupt environments. While the latter are generally conducive to tolerance and passive attitudes to corruption among business leaders, we identify proactive modes (preventive and controlling) and possible channels (formal hierarchy and informal networks) for leadership action. The proposed approach can also be used for leadership training

An experimental evaluation of an anti-corruption intervention among Ukrainian university students

In this paper, we investigate experimentally the effect of an anti-corruption intervention -an info folder based on materials developed by Transparency International- on Ukrainian university students’ willingness to participate in an anti-corruption campaign and their general attitude toward corruption. In a survey of 600 students in the Ukrainian city of Lviv, individuals were randomly exposed to either the anti-corruption folder (treatment group) or a folder with information about Lviv (control group). The results suggest that students who have previous experience with bribing are more open to the campaign, while the effect on the total sample is not statistically significant. Furthermore, the intervention increases the overall perception that corruption is a (long-term) part of society rather than a temporary phenomenon. Finally, students with experience in corrupt practices tend to adopt a more negative view of corruption. For those without such experiences, however, we find some indication that the treatment could bolster the acceptance of corruption by instructing the students about its dissemination. The effects of this intervention are therefore ambivalent and appear to depend on the students’ previous exposure to corruption

On the development of students’ attitudes towards corruption and cheating in Russian universities

Based on empirical data from selected public universities in Khabarovsk, Russia, this paper compares first and fifth year students regarding their attitudes towards corruption in general and university corruption in particular. Even after making both groups of students comparable with respect to a range of socio-economic characteristics by a matching approach, the results suggest that fifth year students are more open to a range of informal and corrupt practices than first years. Our analysis therefore points to the possibility that the Russian higher education system might ‘favor’ compliance with corruption and informal practices, with potentially detrimental consequences for the Russian society as a whole

Combining experimental evidence with machine learning to assess anti-corruption educational campaigns among Russian university students

This paper examines how anti-corruption educational campaigns affect the attitudes of Russian university students towards corruption and academic integrity. About 2,000 survey participants were randomly assigned to one of four different information materials (brochures or videos) about the negative consequences of corruption or to a control group. Using machine learning to detect effect heterogeneity, we find that various groups of students react to the same information differently. Those who commonly plagiarize, who receive excellent grades, and whose fathers are highly educated develop stronger negative attitudes towards corruption in the aftermath of our intervention. However, some information materials lead to more tolerant views on corruption among those who rarely plagiarize, who receive average or above average grades, and whose fathers are less educated. Therefore, policy makers aiming to implement anti-corruption education at a larger scale should scrutinize the possibility of (undesired) heterogeneous effects across student groups

Regional differences in perceived corruption among Ukrainian firms

This paper investigates regional differences in the perception of corruption and informal practices among Ukrainian firms. Using two different data sets from Ukraine, we show that perceived corruption differs significantly across regions, even when taking into account the size, industry, workforce composition, and other characteristics of the firms based on propensity score matching. In particular, perceived corruption is highest in the Eastern oblasts and lowest in the West, which points to distinct business practices that may be rooted in the different histories of Ukrainian regions

The effects of anti-corruption videos on attitudes towards corruption in a Ukrainian online survey

This paper presents the outcomes of an anti-corruption educational intervention among Ukrainian students based on an online experiment. More than 3,000 survey participants were randomly assigned to one of three different videos on corruption and its consequences (treatment groups) or a video on higher education (control group). The data suggest a high level of academic dishonesty and misconduct among young people, but also a negative attitude towards corruption in general, highlighting the ambivalence of corruption in the country. We find that one video, which presented a thrilling story about a victim of corruption related to common bribery in an accessible way, was effective in promoting awareness of the negative consequences of corruption. In contrast, the other two treatment videos, which more closely followed the style of TV news or documentaries on corruption, did not generally promote negative attitudes towards corruption. Presenting corruption issues in a catchy way therefore appears to matter for the effectiveness of such interventions

On the Development of Students’ Attitudes towards Corruption and Cheating in Russian Universities

Based on empirical data from selected public universities in Khabarovsk, Russia, this paper compares first and fifth year students regarding their attitudes towards corruption in general and university corruption in particular. Even after making both groups of students comparable with respect to a range of socio-economic characteristics by a matching approach, the results suggest that fifth year students are more open to a range of informal and corrupt practices than first years. Our analysis therefore points to the possibility that the Russian higher education system might ‘favor’ compliance with corruption and informal practices, with potentially detrimental consequences for the Russian society as a whole