Individual Attitudes Toward Corruption: Do Social Effects Matter?

Using individual-level data for 35 countries, we investigate the microeconomic determinants of attitudes towards corruption. We consistently find women, employed, less wealthy, and older individuals to be more averse to corruption. We also provide evidence that social effects play an important role in determining individual attitudes towards corruption, as these are robustly and significantly associated with the average level of tolerance of corruption in the region. This finding lends empirical support to theoretical models where corruption emerges in multiple equilibria and suggests that “big-push” policies might be particularly effective in combating corruption. We thank Steve Knack, Aart Kraay, and Giorgio Topa for useful comments and discussions. The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of the World Bank and its member countries. Send correspondence to [email protected].