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Getting the basic nature of systemic corruption right : A reply to Marquette and Peiffer

Persson, Anna ; Rothstein, Bo and Teorell, Jan LU orcid (2019) In Governance 32(4). p.799-810
Abstract

In reply to Marquette and Peiffer's article “Grappling With the ‘Real Politics’ of Systemic Corruption: Theoretical Debates Versus ‘Real-World’ Functions,” this article employs three criticisms: Marquette and Peiffer's call to grapple with the “real politics of corruption” does not bring much new to the table, is conceptually flawed, and risks serving as an excuse for corrupt elites to pursue “business as usual.” In response, we reaffirm three insights gained from collective action-based approaches toward corruption. Although corruption might solve individual-level problems in the short term, it is still a de facto problem at the aggregate level, the tools derived from principal–agent theory will not solve the collective action problem... (More)

In reply to Marquette and Peiffer's article “Grappling With the ‘Real Politics’ of Systemic Corruption: Theoretical Debates Versus ‘Real-World’ Functions,” this article employs three criticisms: Marquette and Peiffer's call to grapple with the “real politics of corruption” does not bring much new to the table, is conceptually flawed, and risks serving as an excuse for corrupt elites to pursue “business as usual.” In response, we reaffirm three insights gained from collective action-based approaches toward corruption. Although corruption might solve individual-level problems in the short term, it is still a de facto problem at the aggregate level, the tools derived from principal–agent theory will not solve the collective action problem of systemic corruption, and elites will be the least likely to implement reform. We conclude by calling for the continued fight against corruption—a fight informed by empirical and theoretical knowledge.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Governance
volume
32
issue
4
pages
799 - 810
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85063582157
ISSN
0952-1895
DOI
10.1111/gove.12403
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d492adc1-e4ef-4665-b395-ba023961a851
date added to LUP
2019-04-08 14:49:25
date last changed
2022-04-25 22:19:32
@article{d492adc1-e4ef-4665-b395-ba023961a851,
  abstract     = {{<p>In reply to Marquette and Peiffer's article “Grappling With the ‘Real Politics’ of Systemic Corruption: Theoretical Debates Versus ‘Real-World’ Functions,” this article employs three criticisms: Marquette and Peiffer's call to grapple with the “real politics of corruption” does not bring much new to the table, is conceptually flawed, and risks serving as an excuse for corrupt elites to pursue “business as usual.” In response, we reaffirm three insights gained from collective action-based approaches toward corruption. Although corruption might solve individual-level problems in the short term, it is still a de facto problem at the aggregate level, the tools derived from principal–agent theory will not solve the collective action problem of systemic corruption, and elites will be the least likely to implement reform. We conclude by calling for the continued fight against corruption—a fight informed by empirical and theoretical knowledge.</p>}},
  author       = {{Persson, Anna and Rothstein, Bo and Teorell, Jan}},
  issn         = {{0952-1895}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{799--810}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Governance}},
  title        = {{Getting the basic nature of systemic corruption right : A reply to Marquette and Peiffer}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gove.12403}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/gove.12403}},
  volume       = {{32}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}