A Culture of Corruption

by Miller, William Lockley; Grodeland, Ase B.; Koshechkina, Tatyana Y.

• ISBN13: 9789639116986
• ISBN10: 963911698X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-12-01
• Publisher: Central European University Pr

Author Biography

William L. Miller is 'Edward Caird' Professor of Politics at Glasgow University and a Fellow of the British Academy Ase B. Grodeland is currently researching EU membership conditionality and corruption at the Norwegian Institute of Urban and Regional Research, Oslo Tatyana Y. Koshechkina is International Director at GfK-GB, London

Table of Contents

List of Tables	ix
List of Figures	xv
Preface and Acknowledgements	xvii
Coping With Government: Democratic Ideals and Street-Level Bureaucrats	1	(38)
The Democratic Ideal: A `Complete Democracy'	4	(4)
Should Public-Sector Corruption Be Condemned?	8	(4)
Does Street-Level Corruption Matter?	12	(5)
Do History and Culture Exclude the Possibility of Reform?	17	(5)
Why Surveys?	22	(4)
What Surveys?	26	(2)
Plan of the Book	28	(5)
Appendix: The Study Design	33	(2)
Notes	35	(4)
Context: An Unfinished Transition	39	(22)
The Democratisation of Local Government	40	(1)
Privatisation and Restitution	41	(3)
Economic and Moral Chaos	44	(4)
The Political Context	48	(2)
Public Perspectives on the Unfinished Transition	50	(8)
Conclusion: Victims of a Necessary Transition	58	(1)
Notes	58	(3)
Public Perceptions and Public Experience of Officials	61	(32)
Public Perceptions of Politicians and Top Government Officials	62	(4)
Public Perceptions of Street-Level Officials	66	(4)
Public Perceptions of Comparative Corruption	70	(2)
Public Perceptions of the Need to Use Contacts and Bribes	72	(3)
Public Perceptions of Officials' Motives and Feelings	75	(3)
Public Experience of Dealing with Officials	78	(1)
Experience of Being Treated with Respect	79	(1)
Experience of Favourable Treatment	80	(2)
Experience of Fair (or Unfair) Treatment	82	(1)
Experience of Extortion	83	(2)
The Most Frequent or Most Annoying Problems When Dealing with Street-Level Officials	85	(3)
Public Satisfaction with Street-Level Officials	88	(3)
Conclusion: Extremely Negative Perceptions, Moderately Negative Experiences	91	(1)
Notes	91	(2)
Citizen Strategies for Dealing With Officials	93	(40)
How Citizens in Focus-Groups Discussed Strategies for Dealing With Officials	95	(7)
Different Strategies for Different Objectives: Fair Treatment or Favours	102	(1)
Different Strategies in Gossip and Personal Experience	103	(4)
Public Perceptions of the Strategies Needed to Deal with Officials: Gossip and Hearsay	107	(3)
Personal Experience of Using Different Strategies: Reported Behaviour	110	(4)
Combinations of Strategies	114	(1)
Influences on Citizens' Choice of Strategies	115	(14)
All Strategies Correlate with Citizen Dissatisfaction	129	(1)
Conclusion: Increased Argument, Not Bribery, Is the Main Response to III-Treatment	130	(2)
Notes	132	(1)
Willing Givers?	133	(36)
A Moral Imperative to Obey the Law?	134	(2)
Public Condemnation of the Use of Contacts, Presents and Bribes	136	(4)
A Permanent Part of Our Country's History and Culture?	140	(5)
Would Citizens Give Bribes If Asked, or Accept Them If Offered?	145	(2)
Feelings about Giving Bribes: Happy, Angry, Worried, or Ashamed?	147	(2)
Public Experience of Actually Giving Presents and Bribes to Officials	149	(1)
A Difference between Presents and Bribes? The Significance of Size, Timing and Motivation	149	(8)
Did 'Values and Norms' Affect Behaviour?	157	(2)
The Impact of Attempted Extortion	159	(4)
The Independent Effects of Values and Extortion: A Regression Analysis	163	(2)
Conclusion: Extortion Always Works, but Values Sometimes Moderate Its Impact	165	(1)
Notes	166	(3)
`Try Harder' or 'Give Up': The Choice for Ethnic Minorities?	169	(36)
A General Curvilinear Model of Response to Stress	171	(3)
Eight Diverse Minorities	174	(7)
Negative Attitudes towards Ethnic Minorities: Cross-Country and Cross-Minority Comparisons	181	(3)
Suspicions of Ethnic Discrimination	184	(2)
Actual Experience of Biased Treatment	186	(4)
Comparative International Perspectives	190	(1)
Ethnic Values and Norms	191	(1)
Ethnic Behaviour	192	(4)
The 'Ecological Effect': The Impact of Context	196	(4)
Conclusion: Most Ethnic Minorities Are Located in the 'Try Harder' Zone, but Gypsies in the 'Give Up' Zone, and Turks on the Boundary	200	(3)
Appendix: The Ethnic Samples	203	(1)
Notes	203	(2)
Street-Level Bureaucrats: Caught Between State and Citizen	205	(34)
Officials 'As Citizens'---in Relation to Other Officials	207	(3)
Officials 'As Employees'---in Relation to the State	210	(3)
Officials 'As Officials'---in Relation to Their Clients	213	(11)
How Did Their Experience 'As Employees' Affect Officials' Relationships with Clients?	224	(11)
Conclusion: Benign and Pernicious Institutional Cultures	235	(3)
Notes	238	(1)
Willing Takers?	239	(40)
Temptations, Excuses and Justifications	241	(4)
Doubts, Fears and Inhibitions	245	(3)
Confessions	248	(4)
Opportunity and Motivation	252	(2)
Why Did Some Officials Accept while Others Did Not?	254	(12)
A Causal Model	266	(9)
Conclusion: Bargaining Power Rather Than Poverty Leads to Bribe Taking	275	(3)
Notes	278	(1)
A Culture of Corruption? Support, Priorities and Prospects for Reform	279	(68)
Is Reform Possible?	281	(2)
Perceptions of Government Commitment to Reform	283	(6)
Expert Opinion: Six Prescriptions	289	(10)
Public Opinion on Reform---As Expressed in Focus-Group Discussions	299	(5)
A Ten-Item Menu of Reform: Public Opinion and the Reactions of Street-Level Officials	304	(1)
Priorities: The Single Most Effective Reform	305	(3)
Reform Packages	308	(4)
Resistance to Reform	312	(3)
Alternative Ways of Encouraging Officials	315	(2)
Downsizing the State	317	(3)
Training and Guidance	320	(2)
Reform Itself As the Problem?	322	(1)
Public Support for International Pressure	322	(3)
Why Do People Within the Same Country Have Different Views About Reform?	325	(8)
Diagnosis and Prescription	333	(2)
Analytic Perspectives: Focusing Reforms on Situations Rather Than Participants	335	(5)
Could 'Glorious Summer' Follow the 'Winter of Discontent'?	340	(3)
Notes	343	(4)
Bibliography	347	(12)
Index	359