The Gender-Corruption Nexus: Evidence From Four Natural Experiments

• In Event: Women as Stewards of the Public Trust: Empirics or Essentialism?

Abstract

Stemming from two seminal studies (Dollar et al. 2001, Swamy et al. 2001) and a Transparency International news bite at the turn of the century, literature investigating the linkage between gender and corruption has matured in theory and methods into a respectable niche. Still, scholarship has revealed that the nexus is more complex and context-specific than these early studies, assuming intrinsic ethical differences between the genders, convey. Behavioral analyses suggest other causal mechanisms at work—gender stereotypes, socialization, opportunity structures, and risk profiles. Institutional arguments cry spurious correlation, asserting that liberal democracy is causal to both gender equality and reduced corruption. Additional studies analyze nuanced effects of different types or levels of corruption, and still others raise econometric concerns about endogeneity and direction of causality. Thus, despite significant attention, narratives and results remain mixed. Building on the range of research methods brought to bear on the puzzle, including case studies, large-n cross-national approaches, and laboratory experiments, we examine four natural experiments to test the dynamics between gender, corruption, and institutions. Hungary, Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea have all democratized since the World Values Survey (WVS) began to be conducted. Leveraging the full coverage of WVS data depicting these nations as autocracies, anocracies, and democracies enables us to treat them as quasi-experiments, holding many national, cultural, and historical elements constant. Exploring micro and macrolevel arguments along the institutional transition pathways, our study offers a distinct perspective on and endeavors to mediate between extant understandings of the gender-corruption nexus.

Authors

• Kerry Chavez, Texas Tech University

• Aie-Rie Lee, Texas Tech University