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Revisiting informal payments in 29 transitional countries: The scale and socio-economic correlates

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  • Habibov, Nazim
  • Cheung, Alex

Abstract

This study assesses informal payments (IPs) in 29 transitional countries using a fully comparable household survey. The countries of the former Soviet Union, especially those in the Caucasus and Central Asia, exhibit the highest scale of IPs, followed by Southern Europe, and then Eastern Europe. The lowest and the highest scale of IPs were in Slovenia (2.7%) and Azerbaijan (73.9%) respectively. We found that being from a wealthier household, experiencing lower quality of healthcare in the form of long waiting times, lack of medicines, absence of personnel, and disrespectful treatment, and having relatives to help when needed, are associated with a higher odds ratio of IPs. Conversely, working for the government is associated with a lower odds ratio of IPs. Living in the countries of the former Soviet Union and in Mongolia is associated with the highest likelihood of IPs, and this is followed by the countries of the Southern Europe. In contrast, living in the countries of Eastern Europe is associated with the lowest likelihood of IPs.

Suggested Citation

  • Habibov, Nazim & Cheung, Alex, 2017. "Revisiting informal payments in 29 transitional countries: The scale and socio-economic correlates," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 28-37.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:178:y:2017:i:c:p:28-37
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.02.003
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    3. Cristian Incaltarau & Adrian V. Horodnic & Colin C. Williams & Liviu Oprea, 2021. "Institutional Determinants of Informal Payments for Health Services: An Exploratory Analysis across 117 Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-19, November.
    4. Jean-Louis Keene, 2020. "Essays on political economy and development [Essais sur l'économie politique et le développement]," SciencePo Working papers Main tel-04125445, HAL.
    5. Elisabetta Reginato & Isabella Fadda & Paola Paglietti & Aldo Pavan, 2021. "Informal Payments and Performance in the Health Care Sector: Possible Relationships in a Sub-National Perspective," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 15(3), pages 126-126, July.
    6. Obrizan, Maksym, 2019. "Diverging trends in health care use between 2010 and 2016: Evidence from three groups of transition countries," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 19-29.
    7. 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.
    8. Habibov, Nazim & Auchynnikava, Alena & Lyu, Yunhong, 2021. "Association between “grease-the-wheel”, “sand-the-wheel”, and “cultural norm” motivations for making informal payments with satisfaction in public primary, secondary, and vocational education in 27 na," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    9. Maksym Obrizan, 2019. "Violent conflict and unhappiness: evidence from the 2016 ‘Life in Transition' III surve," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(1), pages 192-199.
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