We investigate the long-run relationship between organized crime and corruption using data from 20 Italian regions over 30 years. As Rose-Ackerman and Palifka (2018) argue, corruption and organized crime often go together. Our study contributes to the literature in several ways in terms of...

Ecological sustainability is one of the key dimensions of sustainable development in any economy. Developing economies exhibit high-risk levels in terms of political stability and corruption, thereby inhibiting them from successfully adopting techniques for ecological sustainability. A framework...

This paper shows that immigrants not only have differential effects on trade based on their skill levels but that they play an additional role in facilitating bilateral trade if their origin country has a higher level of corruption and weaker institutions. Using immigrant stock across skill...

This paper examines the relationship between corruption and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in European Union member states using a dynamic panel framework. Using an unbalanced EU panel from 2002 to 2022 and an Arellano-Bond difference-GMM specification, we model inward FDI inflows per...

This paper analyzes the impact of corruption on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP) economies between 2006 and 2018. The focus lies on Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique since, according to Transparency International, they exhibit...

Many developing country governments would like to attract investment and create jobs in manufacturing and high-tech industries. Heavy and unpredictable laws and regulations, frequent demands for bribes, high taxes, poor-quality roads, slow and inefficient ports, and unreliable power, however,...

A major concern about the imposition of international sanctions is that they may permanently deteriorate the quality of institutions in target countries, potentially causing an increase in corruption. While case studies suggest that this is frequently the case, systematic evidence is so far...

Objective: This study aims to examine how cultural dimensions mediate the relationship between accepting corruption and engaging in corrupt behaviours. The study examines how cultural traits affect the normalisation of corruption in organisations and societies. Research Design & Methods: The...

Using household survey data on expenditures and incomes, we construct an objective measure of corruption in the public sector for a broad spectrum of countries. Specifically, we focus on the consumption-income gap for public sector workers relative to private sector workers to gauge the extent...

This study examines the complex relations between corruption, income inequality, and sustainable economic development within the European Union (EU) for the 2003-2023 period. Employing panel data for all 27 EU member states, as well as for the subgroups of Old (OMS) and New Member States (NMS),...

Entrepreneurs based in developing nations, as well as in contexts with significant corruption, find significant issues when seeking financing, and this was exacerbated by the 2008 financial crisis. Nevertheless, recently developed financial approaches such as international reward-based...

This study investigated the impact of corruption on the persistence of informality across countries, offering new insights into the institutional dynamics that sustain informal economic activities. Drawing on firm-level data from World Bank Enterprise Surveys covering 159 countries, the analysis...

Electoral accountability is a cornerstone of democratic governance, yet whether voters effectively punish corruption remains theoretically and empirically contested. While canonical models predict that corruption revelations reduce incumbent support, strategic voting considerations-especially...

Research background: Balanced state development is impossible without sustainable human development. In turn, corruption has a significant impact on the level of human development, since a high level of corruption leads to an unfair distribution of income and resources and exacerbates inequality...

When governments have more revenue, they can invest in infrastructure, such as the provision of electricity or clean fuels, which is more effective in well-governed countries. Here, we use an equilibrium correction model to empirically investigate the relationship between government revenue per...

In all successful economic societies, trust is a unity factor. By contrast, the absence of trust leads to poor economic performance and negative social implications. In this paper, we uncover the relationships among social trust, corruption, and the duration of economic crises. Our theoretical...

This study analyses the long-term impacts of corruption on economic growth within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, using data spanning 2005 to 2022. Through econometric modelling covering SADC countries, the research investigates the influence of corruption on the...

In contemporary times, energy sustainability and security have become essential economic concerns globally. Nonetheless, in addition to these concerns, inadequate governance inside a corporation within the energy industry may result in corruption and energy instability within the sector. The...

The changing geopolitical situation in the European region has actualized the issues of further EU enlargement. As a result, the relevance of studying many aspects of the functioning economic systems of candidate countries has increased. In this context, the purpose of this article is to...

Widening income disparities, higher corruption and larger informality in many emerging market and developing economies (EMDE) including Latin America, all with pressing and mounting fiscal problems, have rekindled interest in the empirical analysis of the key factors determining the occurrence...

This study investigates the impact of U.S. economic sanctions on internal instability and conflict using a global sample. Our analysis, which includes cross-country and panel data from over 120 countries between 1996 and 2022, shows that economic sanctions increase the risk of internal conflict...

Approximately 42% of European public procurement contracts are awarded to a sole bidder. As this market represents about one-seventh of GDP in developed countries, any inefficiency is a first-order concern. This paper examines a Czech reform that prohibited awarding such single-bid contracts....

We develop a novel, scalable method for assessing the quality of public procurement systems using standard administrative data. Our approach compares the distribution of procurement opportunities to the distribution of contract awards across firms. We first derive a simple theoretical benchmark...

Organised crime groups often deliver electoral support to politicians, yet how they are rewarded remains unclear. Using data from Sicilian municipalities (1992-2022), we show that narrowly won races by Forza Italia, Silvio Berlusconi's party, coincide with sharp declines in the reallocation of...