Corruption Risks in Public Services: The Results of the National Survey on Governmental Quality 2013 in Mexico

• In Event: Measuring Corruption: The Experiences of Different Countries in Disentangling Its Main Aspects

Abstract

The measurement of government quality implies the study of a series of dimensions providing insights into potential vulnerability for corruption. Some of these vulnerabilities might, for example, be related to the type of public service, the electronic alternatives for requesting a public service, the availability of information on standards and requirements, the time spent on obtaining the service, the attitudes of public servants, and, in general, all the elements related to the quality of public services. Although we cannot measure with an accurate precision the extent of bribery in each public service, an analysis of the above mentioned vulnerabilities allow mapping the risk factors for corruption. This is the aim of the National Survey on Governmental Quality, a large-scale study carried out in 2013 in Mexico, which includes a battery of questions with a victim perspective in order to increase the response on the issue of corruption and to unravel the several forms that this behavior may take when a public servant seeks to extract rents from citizens. This paper discusses the main methodological issues of this survey as well as its main results.

Authors

• Oscar Jaimes, National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI-Mexico)

• Edgar Vielma, National Institute of Statistics and Geography INEGI-Mexico