Using data from the "Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics Corruption in America Survey", we construct indices measuring two specific forms of corruption across American states: illegal and legal. We define illegal corruption as the private gains in the form of cash or gifts by a government...

This study shows that the level of trust matters for how corruption affects public policy outcomes in the long run, in particular with regard to the stringency of environmental policies. We argue that the level of trust affects the relative strength of industry and environmental lobby groups,...