IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cog/poango/v8y2020i2p103-115.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Press Freedom and Corruption Perceptions: Is There a Reputational Premium?

Author

Listed:
  • Michael Breen

    (School of Law and Government, Dublin City University, Ireland)

  • Robert Gillanders

    (Business School, Dublin City University, Ireland / Department of Economics, Hanken School of Economics, Finland)

Abstract

Many studies find a strong association between press freedom and corruption perceptions (Adsera, Boix, & Payne, 2003; Brunetti & Weder, 2003; Freille, Haque, & Kneller, 2007). However, it is possible that this relationship is driven by experts’ belief that limits on press freedom are associated with corruption. This article tests the association between press freedom and corruption perceptions using objective measures of corruption from the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys, a series of representative surveys of the owners and top managers of private firms in the manufacturing and service sectors. Our findings suggest that there is a reputational premium associated with press freedom: Holding corruption experiences constant, corruption perceptions are improved by greater press freedom. Moreover, we find that the developed world is best placed to avail of this premium, as it is most evident in countries with low to moderate levels of corruption by global standards.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Breen & Robert Gillanders, 2020. "Press Freedom and Corruption Perceptions: Is There a Reputational Premium?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(2), pages 103-115.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v8:y:2020:i:2:p:103-115
    DOI: 10.17645/pag.v8i2.2697
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/2697
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17645/pag.v8i2.2697?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sandile Hlatshwayo & Anne Oeking & Mr. Manuk Ghazanchyan & David Corvino & Ananya Shukla & Mr. Lamin Y Leigh, 2018. "The Measurement and Macro-Relevance of Corruption: A Big Data Approach," IMF Working Papers 2018/195, International Monetary Fund.
    2. Brunetti, Aymo & Weder, Beatrice, 2003. "A free press is bad news for corruption," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(7-8), pages 1801-1824, August.
    3. Kalenborn, Christine & Lessmann, Christian, 2013. "The impact of democracy and press freedom on corruption: Conditionality matters," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 857-886.
    4. Freille, Sebastian & Haque, M. Emranul & Kneller, Richard, 2007. "A contribution to the empirics of press freedom and corruption," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 838-862, December.
    5. Gundlach, Erich & Paldam, Martin, 2009. "The transition of corruption: From poverty to honesty," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 103(3), pages 146-148, June.
    6. AlÌcia Adserý, 2003. "Are You Being Served? Political Accountability and Quality of Government," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 445-490, October.
    7. Jakob Svensson, 2003. "Who Must Pay Bribes and How Much? Evidence from a Cross Section of Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 207-230.
    8. Jakob Svensson, 2005. "Eight Questions about Corruption," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(3), pages 19-42, Summer.
    9. Fan, C. Simon & Lin, Chen & Treisman, Daniel, 2009. "Political decentralization and corruption: Evidence from around the world," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1-2), pages 14-34, February.
    10. Nicholas Charron, 2009. "The Impact of Socio-Political Integration and Press Freedom on Corruption," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(9), pages 1472-1493.
    11. Tamanna Adhikari & Michael Breen & Robert Gillanders, 2019. "Are new states more corrupt? Expert opinions versus firms’ experiences," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(2), pages 131-134, January.
    12. Chowdhury, Shyamal K., 2004. "The effect of democracy and press freedom on corruption: an empirical test," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 85(1), pages 93-101, October.
    13. Knack, Stephen, 2007. "Measuring Corruption: A Critique of Indicators in Eastern Europe and Central Asia," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(3), pages 255-291, December.
    14. Klaus Abbink & Bernd Irlenbusch & Elke Renner, 2002. "An Experimental Bribery Game," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(2), pages 428-454, October.
    15. Binhadab, Nouf & Breen, Michael & Gillanders, Robert, 2018. "The Role of a Free Press in Combating Business Corruption," MPRA Paper 88954, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Christopher J. Anderson & Yuliya V. Tverdova, 2003. "Corruption, Political Allegiances, and Attitudes Toward Government in Contemporary Democracies," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 47(1), pages 91-109, January.
    17. Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo & Rachel Glennerster & Cynthia Kinnan, 2015. "The Miracle of Microfinance? Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(1), pages 22-53, January.
    18. Elissaios Papyrakis & Matthias Rieger & Emma Gilberthorpe, 2017. "Corruption and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(2), pages 295-309, February.
    19. Robert Gillanders & Sinikka Parviainen, 2018. "Corruption and the shadow economy at the regional level," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 1729-1743, November.
    20. Christan RA Setyobudi & Dyah Setyaningrum, 2019. "E-government and corruption perception index: a cross-country study," Jurnal Akuntansi dan Auditing Indonesia, Accounting Department, Faculty of Business and Economics, Universitas Islam Indonesia, vol. 23(1), pages 11-20.
    21. Joseph Mawejje & Rachel K. Sebudde, 2019. "Constraints or Complaints? Business Climate and Firm Performance Perceptions in Uganda," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(12), pages 2513-2525, December.
    22. Shang-Jin Wei, 2000. "How Taxing is Corruption on International Investors?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(1), pages 1-11, February.
    23. Justesen, Mogens K. & Bjørnskov, Christian, 2014. "Exploiting the Poor: Bureaucratic Corruption and Poverty in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 106-115.
    24. Thorsten Beck & George Clarke & Alberto Groff & Philip Keefer & Patrick Walsh, 2001. "New Tools in Comparative Political Economy: The Database of Political Institutions," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 15(1), pages 165-16-176.
    25. Armantier, Olivier & Boly, Amadou, 2011. "A controlled field experiment on corruption," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(8), pages 1072-1082.
    26. Fisman, Raymond & Svensson, Jakob, 2007. "Are corruption and taxation really harmful to growth? Firm level evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 63-75, May.
    27. Rafael Di Tella & Alberto Ades, 1999. "Rents, Competition, and Corruption," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(4), pages 982-993, September.
    28. Paolo Mauro, 1995. "Corruption and Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(3), pages 681-712.
    29. repec:uii:jaaife:v:23:y:2019:i:1:p:11-20 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. Reinikka, Ritva & Svensson, Jakob, 2006. "Using Micro-Surveys to Measure and Explain Corruption," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 359-370, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fabrizio Di Mascio & Simona Piattoni, 2020. "Corruption Control in the Developed World," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(2), pages 72-77.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michael Breen & Robert Gillanders, 2020. "Press Freedom and Corruption Perceptions: Is There a Reputational Premium?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(2), pages 103-115.
    2. Binhadab, Nouf & Breen, Michael & Gillanders, Robert, 2021. "Press freedom and corruption in business-state interactions," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 45(4).
    3. Binhadab, Nouf & Breen, Michael & Gillanders, Robert, 2018. "The Role of a Free Press in Combating Business Corruption," MPRA Paper 88954, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Eugen Dimant & Guglielmo Tosato, 2018. "Causes And Effects Of Corruption: What Has Past Decade'S Empirical Research Taught Us? A Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 335-356, April.
    5. Krisztina Kis-Katos & Günther G. Schulze, 2013. "Corruption in Southeast Asia: a survey of recent research," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 27(1), pages 79-109, May.
    6. Yan Leung Cheung & P. Raghavendra Rau & Aris Stouraitis, 2012. "How much do firms pay as bribes and what benefits do they get? Evidence from corruption cases worldwide," NBER Working Papers 17981, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Gabriel Caldas Montes & Paulo Henrique Luna, 2021. "Fiscal transparency, legal system and perception of the control on corruption: empirical evidence from panel data," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(4), pages 2005-2037, April.
    8. Michael Breen & Robert Gillanders & Gemma Mcnulty & Akisato Suzuki, 2017. "Gender and Corruption in Business," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(9), pages 1486-1501, September.
    9. Laarni Escresa & Lucio Picci, 2020. "The determinants of cross-border corruption," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 184(3), pages 351-378, September.
    10. Gans-Morse, Jordan & Borges, Mariana & Makarin, Alexey & Mannah-Blankson, Theresa & Nickow, Andre & Zhang, Dong, 2018. "Reducing bureaucratic corruption: Interdisciplinary perspectives on what works," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 171-188.
    11. Nouf Binhadab & Robert Gillanders & Thomas McCluskey, 2023. "A clean and discreet service: The role of corruption and secrecy in profit shifting by multinational firms," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 1551-1573, October.
    12. Nur-tegin, Kanybek & Jakee, Keith, 2020. "Does corruption grease or sand the wheels of development? New results based on disaggregated data," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 19-30.
    13. Armand, Alex & Coutts, Alexander & Vicente, Pedro C. & Vilela, Inês, 2023. "Measuring corruption in the field using behavioral games," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    14. repec:pdn:wpaper:79 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Salvatore Capasso & Rajeev K. Goel & James W. Saunoris, 2023. "The nexus between corruption and academic freedom: An international investigation of the underlying linkages," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(3), pages 513-531, July.
    16. repec:pdn:wpaper:70 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Robert Gillanders & Sinikka Parviainen, 2018. "Corruption and the shadow economy at the regional level," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 1729-1743, November.
    18. Changwony, Frederick Kibon & Paterson, Audrey S., 2019. "Accounting practice, fiscal decentralization and corruption," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(5).
    19. Gillanders, Robert & Parviainen, Sinikka, 2014. "Experts’ Perceptions versus Firms’ Experiences of Corruption and Foreign Direct Investment," MPRA Paper 58991, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Dong, Bin & Torgler, Benno, 2013. "Causes of corruption: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 152-169.
    21. Chandan Sharma & Sudharshan Reddy Paramati, 2021. "Does financial development reduce the level of corruption? Evidence from a global sample of 140 countries," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 5093-5109, October.
    22. Bin Dong & Benno Torgler, 2010. "The Causes of Corruption: Evidence from China," Working Papers 2010.72, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v8:y:2020:i:2:p:103-115. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: António Vieira or IT Department (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cogitatiopress.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.