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Former Communist party membership and bribery in the post-socialist countries

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  • Ivlevs, Artjoms
  • Hinks, Timothy

Abstract

We study the effect of former Communist party membership on paying bribes to public officials and motivations for bribery, 25 years after the fall of communist rule. Data come from a large representative survey, conducted in post-socialist countries in 2015/16. To deal with endogeneity, we instrument party membership with information on whether family members were affected by the Second World War. Instrumental variable results suggest that links to the former Communist party increase the likelihood of paying bribes today; this result applies to the former party members as well as their children and relatives. Among bribe payers, people with the party links are more likely to offer bribes as well as think that bribe payments are expected. Overall, our findings suggest that the proclivity to corruption of the former Communist party members has been transmitted through family and thus sustained over time, contributing to corruption decades after the demise of the Socialist bloc.

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  • Ivlevs, Artjoms & Hinks, Timothy, 2018. "Former Communist party membership and bribery in the post-socialist countries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 1411-1424.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:46:y:2018:i:4:p:1411-1424
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2018.06.001
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    1. Nikolova, Milena & Popova, Olga, 2024. "Echoes of the past: The enduring impact of communism on contemporary freedom of speech values," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    2. Potrafke, Niklas, 2019. "Electoral cycles in perceived corruption: International empirical evidence," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 215-224.
    3. Nikolova, Milena & Popova, Olga & Otrachshenko, Vladimir, 2022. "Stalin and the origins of mistrust," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    4. Artjoms Ivlevs & Milena Nikolova & Olga Popova, 2021. "Former Communist party membership and present-day entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1783-1800, December.
    5. Steven B. Caudill & Stephanie O. Crofton & João Ricardo Faria & Neela D. Manage & Franklin G. Mixon & Mary Greer Simonton, 2020. "Property confiscation and the intergenerational transmission of education in post-1948 Eastern Europe," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 184(1), pages 1-41, July.
    6. Aurelian-PetruÈ™ PLOPEANU & Daniel HOMOCIANU, 2024. "Prisoner in the cage of history? Its influence in understanding the current tolerance of bribery in Romania," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 15, pages 41-71, June.
    7. Artjoms Ivlevs & Milena Nikolova & Olga Popova, 2019. "Former Communist party membership and present-day entrepreneurship in Central and Eastern Europe," Working Papers 384, Leibniz Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung (Institute for East and Southeast European Studies).
    8. Mavisakalyan, Astghik & Otrachshenko, Vladimir & Popova, Olga, 2021. "Can bribery buy health? Evidence from post-communist countries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 991-1007.
    9. Alexander Libman & Anastassia Obydenkova, 2019. "Inequality and historical legacies: evidence from post-communist regions," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(6), pages 699-724, November.
    10. Luca Andriani & Gaygysyz Ashyrov, 2022. "Corruption and life satisfaction: Evidence from a transition survey," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(4), pages 511-535, November.
    11. Vladimir Otrachshenko & Milena Nikolova & Olga Popova, 2023. "Double-edged sword: persistent effects of Communist regime affiliations on well-being and preferences," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1139-1185, July.
    12. Meriküll, Jaanika & Tverdostup, Maryna, 2023. "The gap that survived the transition: The gender wage gap in Estonia over three decades," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(3).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corruption; Communist party; Political elite; Post-socialist countries; Path dependency;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • P37 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Legal

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