University of Sussex
Browse
Hellmann2017_Article_TheHistoricalOriginsOfCorrupti.pdf (579.12 kB)

The historical origins of corruption in the developing world: a comparative analysis of East Asia

Download (579.12 kB)
Version 2 2023-06-12, 08:36
Version 1 2023-06-09, 04:33
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-12, 08:36 authored by Olli Hellmann
A new approach has emerged in the literature on corruption in the developing world that breaks with the assumption that corruption is driven by individualistic self-interest and, instead, conceptualizes corruption as an informal system of norms and practices. While this emerging neo-institutionalist approach has done much to further our understanding of corruption in the developing world, one key question has received relatively little attention: how do we explain differences in the institutionalization of corruption between developing countries? The paper here addresses this question through a systematic comparison of seven developing and newly industrialized countries in East Asia. The argument that emerges through this analysis is that historical sequencing mattered: countries in which the "political marketplace" had gone through a process of concentration before universal suffrage was introduced are now marked by less harmful types of corruption than countries where mass voting rights where rolled out in a context of fragmented political marketplaces. The paper concludes by demonstrating that this argument can be generalized to the developing world as a whole.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Crime, Law and Social Change

ISSN

0925-4994

Publisher

Springer Verlag

Issue

1-2

Volume

68

Page range

145-165

Department affiliated with

  • Politics Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2017-01-04

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2018-01-14

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2017-01-04

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Licence

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC