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Exploring the Impact of Individual Characteristics Associated with Government Officials on the Severity of Real Estate Corruption

Author

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  • Hongxia Zhang

    (Department of Management, Hubei University of Education, Wuhan 430205, China)

  • Yan Song

    (Department of City Planning, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
    Department of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA)

  • Chaosu Li

    (Department of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA)

  • Qi Liu

    (College of Public Administration, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China)

  • Huatai Cui

    (School of Economy, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China)

  • Chen Zeng

    (Department of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
    Department of Land Management, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
    Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China)

  • Zhongcheng Wang

    (Department of Management, Hubei University of Education, Wuhan 430205, China)

  • Qian Zhang

    (Department of Management, Hubei University of Education, Wuhan 430205, China)

  • Yanan Li

    (College of Management, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, China)

  • Yiling Rong

    (Changzhou Urban Planning Compilation and Research Centre, Changzhou 231002, China)

Abstract

In China, corruption by government officials in the field of real estate has increased at an unprecedented pace, which poses a huge threat to social sustainability. To date, scholars have primarily focused on the macroscopic determinant factors of corruption such as state intervention and economic competition; however, much less is known about the microscopic determinant factor of corruption. In this study, we use an analytical model to evaluate how individual characteristics of government officials involved in corruption cases influence and predict the scale of corruption in these cases. Based on data collected from 135 cases, the results show that age is not a key factor that affects the severity of real estate corruption; however, characteristics associated with amounts of power and levels of involvement in corruption significantly affect the severity of real estate corruption. Therefore, we propose the following countermeasures: (1) take into account the micro determinants of real estate corruption, (2) focus supervision on officials in charge of departments, key position managers, and top leaders, (3) reform the governance of each phase of real estate development and governmental involvement, and (4) enhance auditing during officials’ tenures and limit the possibility of promoting officials who have participated in corruption.

Suggested Citation

  • Hongxia Zhang & Yan Song & Chaosu Li & Qi Liu & Huatai Cui & Chen Zeng & Zhongcheng Wang & Qian Zhang & Yanan Li & Yiling Rong, 2019. "Exploring the Impact of Individual Characteristics Associated with Government Officials on the Severity of Real Estate Corruption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-17, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:12:p:3351-:d:240548
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    References listed on IDEAS

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