Corruption Perceptions in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Multi-level Test of Alternative Models

• In Event: Crime and Justice in Latin America

Abstract

Using data from the 2014 Latin American Population Survey (LAPOP), the current study provides a multidisciplinary approach to explore the sources of corruption perceptions in 22 Latin American and Caribbean countries. The study attempts to make two main contributions. First, it borrows elements from different bodies of literature to test three alternative models: 1) the victimization and fear model; 2) the collective efficacy model; and 3) the government performance model. Second, these issues are explored in a cross-national three-level study. The LAPOP data contain information on individuals nested within municipalities in 22 different Latin American and Caribbean countries. Thus, the research design allows for a discussion of the importance of individual-, local-, and country-level correlates of perceptions of corruption.
The study aims at gaining a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between corruption victimization and perceptions of corruption, understanding also the potential influence of alternative elements. Results allow to better evaluate the potential impact of strategies aimed at combating corruption. Exploring what influences perceptions of corruption may help to identify contexts in which effective efforts to reduce corruption can be inconsequential for tampering long-held views of widespread corruption and thus result inefficacious in solidifying democratic legitimacy.

Author

• Cecilia Chouhy, Florida State University