Corruption in America

Edward Glaeser and Raven Saks

No 10821, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We use a data set of federal corruption convictions in the U.S. to investigate the causes and consequences of corruption. More educated states, and to a less degree richer states, have less corruption. This relationship holds even when we use historical factors like education in 1928 or Congregationalism in 1890, as instruments for the level of schooling today. The level of corruption is weakly correlated with the level of income inequality and racial fractionalization, and uncorrelated with the size of government. There is a weak negative relationship between corruption and employment and income growth. These results echo the cross-country findings, and support the view that the correlation between development and good political outcomes occurs because more education improves political institutions.

JEL-codes: H0 K4 O1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his and nep-ure
Note: EFG LE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (33)

Published as Glaeser, Edward L. and Raven E. Saks. "Corruption In America," Journal of Public Economics, 2006, v90(6-7,Aug), 1053-1072.

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