Research Insights: Why Do Politicians Get Away with Corruption in Good Economic Times?
Date issued
August 2025
Subject
Public Good;
Corporate Corruption;
Political Corruption;
Government Accountability;
Transparency and Anticorruption;
Public Finance;
Trust;
Economic Recession
JEL code
D72 - Political Processes: Rent-Seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior;
D73 - Bureaucracy • Administrative Processes in Public Organizations • Corruption;
H41 - Public Goods;
C91 - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
Category
Catalogs and Brochures
Politicians are more likely to engage in corruption during economic booms than during downturns. Citizens willingness to punish corruption remains stable across economic cycles, but their ability to detect wrongdoing weakens during good times. Improved economic conditions can obscure accountability, allowing corrupt behavior to go unnoticed or unpunished.
NO