Corrupção e direitos humanos

Lusíada. Direito. - ISSN 2182-4118. - N. especial (2023). - p

2The effect of gender on corruption: Sorting out explanations for gender differences with new exper-imental research

An extensive literature demonstrates a relationship between gender and corruption, with women be-ing less involved in corrupt transactions than men. There are two major ways of explaining this cor-relation; one emphasizes differences between men and women in risk-aversion and the other differ-ences in pro-social behavior. However, whether there is support for these explanations is never di-rectly tested. We take advantage of one opportunity for gathering this evidence by replicating and extending a well-cited experimental study by Alatas et al. (2009). Through our extension of the Alatas et al. study, we were able to collect unique information on gender differences in rationalizations of experimental subjects’ behavior. The key finding is that we see significant gender differences in rea-sons for behavior: the results indicate risk-seeking behavior among men but not risk aversion among women. Instead, pro-social reasoning is apparent among women

The Bigger Picture of Corruption: Europe in Comparative Perspective

Recent scandals all over Europe illustrate that corruption permeates political systems. In 2013, Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe even claimed that “Corruption is the biggest threat to democracy in Europe today”. Generally, corruption is detrimental to economic, social and political development and, in particular, violates the fundamental principles of democracy. Given its large negative impact, much stands to be gained from understanding the causes of corruption, especially in relation to region-specific factors, and the ways in which it can be reduced.Building on prior corruption research, this study investigates the extent and dynamics of corruption in European states both longitudinally as well as cross-nationally; employing multiple levels of analysis. The study considers 37 European countries at the macro level and 20 countries at the micro level, over the period 1995-2010.My findings reveal that a country’s contextual conditions such as the economic development, international integration, women’s percentage in parliaments, Protestantism, the degree and duration of democracy and historical factors such as the post-communist past influence the extent of corruption over time and across European countries. Furthermore, I have identified that corruption is likely experienced differently depending on certain values, norms, and attitudes such as interpersonal trust and the justification of bribery. However, socio-demographic features such as an individual’s gender, age, employment status and level of income do not show any influence.Overall, this bundle of factors adding up to a specific “democratic culture” that hinders the growth of corruption by generating strong democratic institutions and fostering citizen norms and values aimed at monitoring and sanctioning corrupt actors. As a result, democracy promotion seems to be the best remedy against corruption spread in Europe

The Bigger Picture of Corruption: Europe in Comparative Perspective

Recent scandals all over Europe illustrate that corruption permeates political systems. In 2013, Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe even claimed that “Corruption is the biggest threat to democracy in Europe today”. Generally, corruption is detrimental to economic, social and political development and, in particular, violates the fundamental principles of democracy. Given its large negative impact, much stands to be gained from understanding the causes of corruption, especially in relation to region-specific factors, and the ways in which it can be reduced.Building on prior corruption research, this study investigates the extent and dynamics of corruption in European states both longitudinally as well as cross-nationally; employing multiple levels of analysis. The study considers 37 European countries at the macro level and 20 countries at the micro level, over the period 1995-2010.My findings reveal that a country’s contextual conditions such as the economic development, international integration, women’s percentage in parliaments, Protestantism, the degree and duration of democracy and historical factors such as the post-communist past influence the extent of corruption over time and across European countries. Furthermore, I have identified that corruption is likely experienced differently depending on certain values, norms, and attitudes such as interpersonal trust and the justification of bribery. However, socio-demographic features such as an individual’s gender, age, employment status and level of income do not show any influence.Overall, this bundle of factors adding up to a specific “democratic culture” that hinders the growth of corruption by generating strong democratic institutions and fostering citizen norms and values aimed at monitoring and sanctioning corrupt actors. As a result, democracy promotion seems to be the best remedy against corruption spread in Europe

The Sweet Temptation of Corruption: Understanding Corrupt Actions by Experiments in the US and Germany

The study analyzes the propensity to engage in and to punish corrupt behavior in a three-person sequential move-game played by university students in the US and Germany. The assumption is that in environments that are characterized by lower levels of corruption, there is both a lower propensity to engage in and a higher propensity to punish corrupt acts. In contrast to the assumptions, almost 70% of the Californian offered and accepted a bribe. In Germany almost 50% of the participants took the opportunity to offer and 40% accepted a bribe. I found that in both countries the probability to bribe decreases if the participants have work experiences and increases with the time the participants spent in other countries. Additionally, in Germany men have a higher propensity to bribe than women, while in California males tend to give higher bribes compared to females. In the US, 52% of the citizens punished corrupt acts, in Germany even 80%. I also found a relationship between punishment and an individual’s field of study and between the amount of bribery and gender and the wish to work in private or public sector. Moreover, men punished corrupt acts with higher amounts than women. I explain the results by cultural differences (individualism). A contribution of the paper is that it provides additional data in a U.S. and German setting, which can allows for cross-country comparison of individuals corrupt actions in future research

An Experimental Study on Corrupt Actions

The large negative impact of corruption on all areas of individuals’ lives suggests that it is vital for the well-being of citizens to understand why people act corruptly and why corrupt actions are sometimes punished and sometimes not. Our study analyzes the propensity to engage in and to punish corrupt behavior in a three-person sequential move-game played by university students in California. We find that 66% of the people participating in our experiment bribed, and out of these bribes almost 70% accepted the bribes even with knowledge that their actions may be sanctioned by a third person. Males tend to give higher bribes compared to women, and the likelihood of offering a bribe decreases if the participant has work experience and spent time in other countries. Only 51% of the corrupt acts were punished by the citizens. Furthermore, our survey reveals that a lot of the participants are well informed about corruption in the US and all over the world by the media. A contribution of our paper is that it provides additional data in a U.S. setting, which can allows for cross-country comparison of individuals corrupt actions in future research

Moving forward:Including norms in the research agenda on gender and corruption

Research on corruption and gender has expanded over the last two decades, but surprisingly, the role of (gender) norms in this relationship has remained mostly implicit. This edited volume highlights the importance of research focusing on formal and informal norms in understanding how men and women experience, perceive and fight against corruption, and why differences occur. The book showcases case studies from all over the world, demonstrating the importance of more context-specific analysis on the topic of gender and corruption. It also highlights that an intersectional approach to understanding the gender and corruption nexus is, as many norms do have especially harmful effects on those most marginalized in society. Changing norms is a long-term process, that should be guided by rigorous scholarly research. This edited volume is a starting point for those interested in a nuanced analysis of the impact of norms on the relationship between gender and corruption

An Experimental Study on Corrupt Actions

The large negative impact of corruption on all areas of individuals’ lives suggests that it is vital for the well-being of citizens to understand why people act corruptly and why corrupt actions are sometimes punished and sometimes not. Our study analyzes the propensity to engage in and to punish corrupt behavior in a three-person sequential move-game played by university students in California. We find that 66% of the people participating in our experiment bribed, and out of these bribes almost 70% accepted the bribes even with knowledge that their actions may be sanctioned by a third person. Males tend to give higher bribes compared to women, and the likelihood of offering a bribe decreases if the participant has work experience and spent time in other countries. Only 51% of the corrupt acts were punished by the citizens. Furthermore, our survey reveals that a lot of the participants are well informed about corruption in the US and all over the world by the media. A contribution of our paper is that it provides additional data in a U.S. setting, which can allows for cross-country comparison of individuals corrupt actions in future research