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Can bribes buy protection against international competition?

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  • Christian Bjørnskov

Abstract

This paper explores the association between corruption and trade policy. A non-technical theoretical framework first outlines the effects of corruption on non-tariff barriers at the political and bureaucratic level. Both parts have incentives to accept bribes in exchange for increasing barriers. These considerations include politicians’ re-election motives, implying that free information may weaken the association between corruption and trade barriers. I employ panel data on corruption and non-tariff barriers in three periods 1995–2005. The results show that corruption tends to lead to higher non-tariff barriers. The effectiveness of corruption in buying barriers varies with the degree of press freedom and GDP per capita. Copyright Kiel Institute 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Bjørnskov, 2012. "Can bribes buy protection against international competition?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 148(4), pages 751-775, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:weltar:v:148:y:2012:i:4:p:751-775
    DOI: 10.1007/s10290-012-0128-z
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    Cited by:

    1. Klaus Gründler & Niklas Potrafke & Timo Wochner, 2019. "Korruption und Wirtschaftswachstum," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 72(18), pages 27-33, September.
    2. Joshua Hall & John Levendis & Alexandre R. Scarcioffolo, 2020. "The Efficient Corruption Hypothesis and the Dynamics Between Economic Freedom, Corruption, and National Income," Journal of Developing Areas, Tennessee State University, College of Business, vol. 54(3), pages 161-175, July-Sept.
    3. Potrafke, Niklas, 2019. "Electoral cycles in perceived corruption: International empirical evidence," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 215-224.
    4. Gründler, Klaus & Potrafke, Niklas, 2019. "Corruption and economic growth: New empirical evidence," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    5. Petr Wawrosz, 2022. "How Corruption Is and Should Be Investigated by Economic Theory," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-23, December.
    6. Yingying Shi, 2024. "Corruption, technical efficiency and total factor productivity growth: empirical evidence from China," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(6), pages 1-24, December.
    7. Bjørnskov, Christian & Schröder, Philipp J.H., 2023. "Press freedom, market information, and international trade," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    8. Christian Bjørnskov, 2018. "Do Liberalising Reforms Harm the Environment? Evidence from the Post†Communist Transition," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 22-37, February.
    9. 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.
    10. Vadlamannati, Krishna Chaitanya, 2015. "Fighting corruption or elections? The politics of anti-corruption policies in India: A subnational study," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 1035-1052.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trade policy; Rent-seeking; Corruption; Press freedom; F13; H25;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies

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