Everyday opinions on grand and petty corruption: A Portuguese study

Gabrielle Poeschl () and Raquel Ribeiro
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Gabrielle Poeschl: Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação - Universidade do Porto.
Raquel Ribeiro: Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação - Universidade do Porto.

OBEGEF Working Papers from OBEGEF - Observatório de Economia e Gestão de Fraude, OBEGEF Working Papers on Fraud and Corruption

Abstract: In this paper, we present a study of lay people’s opinions on grand and petty corruption. The study was conducted with young and older adults by means of a questionnaire made up of open and closed items. Results show that, for our respondents, grand corruption is associated with the organizational context, which enables specific practices and which elicits negative judgments. Petty corruption is associated with structural factors, above all, poverty, which also triggers specific practices. Generally, corruption is associated with cultural specificities (i.e. complacency), personality traits related to individualistic values, and criminal personalities. Respondents have negative opinions of institutions that do not seem to have the capability or the will to address corruption, an opinion shared, particularly, by older adults. Results suggest that people have quite clear opinions about contexts, actors and practices of corruption, but that they do not contemplate the consequences of the phenomenon, an aspect of corruption that should be more emphasized by the media in order to make lay people willing to participate in the fight against it.

Keywords: lay theories; grand corruption; petty corruption; Portugal; institutions’ capability and will (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25 pages
Date: 2012-12
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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