This paper argues that the effect of corruption on competition is dependent on the institutional environment. When institutions are relatively efficient, observed corruption is likely to be associated with relatively less competition. Conversely, in areas with low quality institutions (e.g.,...

This paper exploits a unique dataset on corruption and informal sector employment in 476 Brazilian municipalities to estimate whether corruption impacts GDP or income levels once variation in informal economic activity is taken into account. Overall, I find that higher levels of corruption and a...

This paper argues that the relationship between corruption and economic growth is dependent upon the uncertainty involved. Employing data on a cross-section of countries, this paper uses an interaction between the frequency of bribery payments and the uncertainty regarding the delivery of the...

In the US, federal prosecutors are appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate, and have significant discretion over which cases they choose to take to court. Federal prosecutors handling an overwhelming majority of corruption cases invites the possibility of political influence in the...

Using data on 434 Brazilian municipalities, this paper estimates the effect of both corruption and the size of the informal sector on economic outcomes, while allowing for the possibility of spatial dependence. Overall, this paper finds that the size of the informal sector has a statistically...

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) prohibits US firms from paying bribes to foreign public officials. We show that FCPA enforcement has no positive effect on the GDP per capita of the countries of these officials but, rather, increases their countries’ shadow economy. When public...

In this paper, we exploit a unique event in the Chinese province of Heilongjiang. Seven high level officials were prosecuted for corruption as an unexpected consequence of an ordinary investigation in 2004. This event exposed a significant amount of corruption and resulted in a substantial...

The government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva implemented a random audits program aimed at curbing municipal corruption in 2003. Recent literature found evidence that these audits successfully reduced corruption (Avis, Ferraz, and Finan 2018) and improved firm performance (Colonnelli and Prem...

Corruption is often cited as a fundamental obstacle to economic development, making anticorruption initiatives an important policy objective. However, there is little convincing empiricalevidence concerning the benefits of anti-corruption reform. We fill this gap by identifying a set ofcountries...

Electoral participation is an integral component of democracy and can be an effective tool in the battle against corruption. However, encouraging participation in areas with highly corrupt governments is difficult. In this paper, I explore the role of transparency in voter turnout. I exploit...