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Republic of Beliefs: An Experimental Investigation

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  • Dasgupta, Utteeyo

    (Fordham University)

  • Radoniqi, Fatos

    (Whittier College)

Abstract

The success of a country's anti-corruption policies can crucially depend on the citizens' beliefs about the existing legal environment. We test this key idea of Basu (2020) using a novel design which systematically manipulates beliefs of participants in an experiment. Our results suggest that Basu's "Republic of Beliefs" idea provides a critical insight in policy formulation; Merely introducing an anti-corruption law is not sufficient in aiding the country towards the desired equilibrium, especially in developing countries, where the existing legal enforcement machinery has severe scopes of leakages.

Suggested Citation

  • Dasgupta, Utteeyo & Radoniqi, Fatos, 2021. "Republic of Beliefs: An Experimental Investigation," IZA Discussion Papers 14130, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14130
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    harassment bribery; asymmetric punishment; republic of beliefs; experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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