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The internet as an indicator of corruption awareness

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  • Goel, Rajeev K.
  • Nelson, Michael A.
  • Naretta, Michael A.

Abstract

We apply a standard specification of the causes of corruption to a large sample of countries to investigate the effect of internet awareness about corruption on prevalence and perceptions of corruption. The main hypothesis is that greater corruption awareness acts as a corruption deterrent. A unique data set of internet searches on Google and Yahoo is compiled using alternate variations of “corruption”, “bribery” and “country name” keywords to capture internet corruption awareness. Results show that internet hits about corruption per capita correlate negatively with corruption perceptions and corruption incidence. This finding generally holds for different specifications and other robustness checks.

Suggested Citation

  • Goel, Rajeev K. & Nelson, Michael A. & Naretta, Michael A., 2012. "The internet as an indicator of corruption awareness," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 64-75.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:poleco:v:28:y:2012:i:1:p:64-75
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2011.08.003
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corruption perceptions; Corruption awareness; Internet; Press;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K4 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior
    • O5 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies
    • H8 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues

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