Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pjpqr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-05T08:31:33.756Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

CORRUPTION AND PERCEIVED FAIRNESS: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM EAST ASIAN COUNTRIES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2021

Wen-Chun Chang Open the ORCID record for Wen-Chun Chang [Opens in a new window]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Corruption can erode political trust and a well-functioning democratic system, but it is unclear whether perceptions of corruption are significantly associated with citizens’ perceptions about the fairness of income distribution. This study thus examines the role of political trust in shaping the relationship between perceptions of corruption and perceived fairness of income distribution for East Asian countries. The findings show that perceived corruption has strong detrimental effects on political trust, and that those who have lower levels of political trust are more likely to perceive the income distribution as unfair in their countries. Causal mediation analysis results indicate that political trust plays an important role in mediating the negative effect of perceived corruption on perceived fairness of income distribution. Moreover, the results from examining the mutual causality linking corruption, political trust, and perceived fairness suggest that the reciprocal causal effects are also significant and robust.

Keywords

corruptionpolitical trustperceived fairnessincome distribution
Type
Article
Information
Journal of East Asian Studies , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , July 2021 , pp. 305 - 330
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the East Asia Institute

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

The author would like to express thanks for the helpful suggestions and advice provided by the editor and the anonymous reviewers.

References

REFERENCES

Agerberg, Mattias. 2019. “The Curse of Knowledge? Education, Corruption, and Politics.” Political Behavior 41: 369–399.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Akçay, Selçuk. 2006. “Corruption and Human Development.” Cato Journal 26 (1): 29–48.Google Scholar
Alesina, Alberto, and Angeletos, George-Marios. 2005. “Corruption, Inequality, and Fairness.” Journal of Monetary Economics 52: 1227–1244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, Christopher J., and Tverdova, Yuliya V.. 2003. “Corruption, Political Allegiances, and Attitudes toward Government in Contemporary Democracies.” American Journal of Political Science 47 (1): 91–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ariely, Gal, and Uslaner, Eric M.. 2016. “Corruption, Fairness, and Inequality.” International Political Science Review 38 (3): 349–362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barr, Michael D. 2000. Lee Kuan Yew: The Belief Behind the Man. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Bauhr, Monika, and Charron, Nicholas. 2020. “The EU as a Savior and a Saint? Corruption and Public Support for Redistribution.” Journal of European Public Policy 27 (4): 509–527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berens, Sarah, and von Schiller, Armin. 2017. “Taxing Higher Incomes: What Makes the High-Income Earners Consent to More Progressive Taxation in Latin America?” Political Behavior 39 (3): 703–729.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chabova, Kristyna. 2016. “Measuring Corruption in Europe: Public Opinion Surveys and Composite Indices.” Quality & Quantity 51 (4): 1877–1900.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, Alex Chuan-hsien. 2018. “How Do Asian Values Constrain Public Support for Redistribution?” Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics 77: 139–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, Eric C.C., and Chu, Yun-han. 2006. “Corruption and Trust: Exceptionalism in Asian Democracies?” Journal of Politics 68 (2): 259–271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chang, Eric C.C., and Huang, Shih-hao. 2016. “Corruption Experience, Corruption Tolerance, and Institutional Trust in East Asian Democracies.” Taiwan Journal of Democracy 12 (1): 27–44.Google Scholar
Chi, Eunju, and Kwon, Hyeok Yong. 2016. “The Trust-Eroding Effect of Perceived Inequality: Evidence from East Asian New Democracies.” Social Science Journal 53: 318–328.Google Scholar
Citrin, Jack, and Stoker, Laura. 2018. “Political Trust in a Cynical Age.” Annual Review of Political Science 21 (1): 49–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clausen, Bianca, Kraay, Aart, and Nyiri, Zsolt. 2011. “Corruption and Confidence in Public Institutions: Evidence from a Global Survey.” World Bank Economic Review 25 (2): 212–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Della Porta, Donatella. 2000. “Social Capital, Beliefs in Government, and Political Corruption.” in Disaffected Democracies: What's Troubling the Trilateral Countries? edited by Pharr, Susan J. and Putnam, Robert D., 202–228. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fukuyama, Francis. 1998. “Asian Values and Civilization.” Paper presented in the ICAS Fall Symposium, Asia's Challenges Ahead. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1998.Google Scholar
Gijsberts, Mérove. 2002. “The Legitimation of Income Inequality in State-Socialist and Market Societies.” Acta Sociologica 45 (4): 269–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gupta, Sanjeev, Davoodi, Hamid, and Alonso-Terme, Rosa. 2002. “Does Corruption Affect Income Inequality and Poverty?” Economics of Governance 3 (1): 23–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutmann, Jerg, Padovano, Fabio, and Voigt, Stefan. 2020. “Perception vs. Experience: Explaining Differences in Corruption Measures Using Microdata.” European Journal of Political Economy 65: 101925.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hadler, Markus. 2005. “Why Do People Accept Different Income Ratios? A Multi-Level Comparison of Thirty Countries.” Acta Sociologica 48 (2): 131–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hicks, Raymond, and Tingley, Dustin. 2011. “Causal Mediation Analysis.” Stata Journal 11 (4): 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holtz, Brain C. 2013. “Trust Primacy: A Model of the Reciprocal Relations between Trust and Perceived Justice.” Journal of Management 39 (7): 1891–1923.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huntington, Samuel P. 1997. “After Twenty Years: The Future of Third Wave.” Journal of Democracy 8 (4): 3–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Imai, Kosuke, Keele, Luke, and Tingley, Dustin. 2010. “A General Approach to Causal Mediation Analysis.” Psychological Methods 15 (4): 309–334.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Imai, Kosuke, and Yamamoto, Teppei. 2013. “Identification and Sensitivity Analysis for Multiple Causal Mechanisms: Revisiting Evidence from Framing Experiments.” Political Analysis 21 (02): 141–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, Ronald, and Welzel, Christian. 2005. Modernization, Cultural Change, and Democracy: The Human Development Sequence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Jimenez, Peggy, and Iyer, Govind S.. 2016. “Tax Compliance in a Social Setting: The Influence of Social Norms, Trust in Government, and Perceived Fairness on Taxpayer Compliance.” Advances in Accounting 34: 17–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaufmann, Daniel, Kraay, Aart, and Mastruzzi, Massimo. 2009. Governance Matters VIII: Aggregate and Individual Governance Indicators, 1996–2008. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 4978, Available at SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1424591.Google Scholar
Keele, Luke. 2007. “Social Capital and the Dynamics of Trust in Government.” American Journal of Political Science 51 (2): 241–254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keele, Luke, Tingley, Dustin, and Yamamoto, Teppei. 2015. “Identifying Mechanisms behind Policy Interventions via Causal Mediation Analysis.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 34 (4): 937–963.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larsen, Christian Albrekt. 2016. “How Three Narratives of Modernity Justify Economic Inequality.” Acta Sociologica 59 (2): 93–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ledgerwood, Alison, Mandisodza, Anesu N., Jost, John T., and Pohl, Michelle J.. 2011. “Working for the System: Motivated Defense of Meritocracy Beliefs.” Social Cognition 29 (2): 322–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, Jason, and Stolte, John F.. 1994. “Cultural and Structural Determinants of Justice Reactions in the Economic Domain.” Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal 22 (4): 319–328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maeda, Kentaro, and Ziegfeld, Adam. 2015. “Socioeconomic Status and Corruption Perceptions around the World.” Research & Politics, doi: 10.1177/2053168015580838.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marien, Sofie, and Werner, Hannah. 2019. “Fair Treatment, Fair Play? The Relationship between Fair Treatment Perceptions, Political Trust and Compliant and Cooperative Attitudes Cross-Nationally.” European Journal of Political Research 58 (1): 72–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCoy, Shannon K. and Major, Brenda. 2007. “Priming Meritocracy and the Psychological Justification of Inequality.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 43, 341–351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mishler, William, and Rose, Richard. 2001. “What Are the Origins of Political Trust? Testing Institutional and Cultural Theories in Post-Communist Societies.” Comparative Political Studies 34 (1): 30–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mishler, William, and Rose, Richard. 2008. “Seeing Is Not Always Believing: Measuring Corruption Perceptions and Experiences.” Paper prepared for the Elections, Public Opinion and Parties 2008 Annual Conference, September 12–14, 2008, the University of Manchester, United Kingdom.Google Scholar
Morris, Stephen D., and Klesner, Joseph L.. 2010. “Corruption and Trust: Theoretical Considerations and Evidence from Mexico.” Comparative Political Studies 43 (10): 1258–1285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OECD 2017. Trust and Public Policy: How Better Governance Can Help Rebuild Public Trust. OECD Public Governance Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, doi: 10.1787/9789264268920-en.Google Scholar
Pellegata, Alessandro, and Memoli, Vincenzo. 2016. “Can Corruption Erode Confidence in Political Institutions among European Countries? Comparing the Effects of Different Measures of Perceived Corruption.” Social Indicators Research 128 (1): 391–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pellegata, Alessandro, and Memoli, Vincenzo. 2018. “Corruption and Satisfaction with Democracy: The Conditional Role of Electoral Disproportionality and Ballot Control.” European Political Science Review 10 (3): 393–416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rawls, John. 1971. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Reynolds, Jeremy, and Xian, He. 2014. “Perceptions of Meritocracy in the Land of Opportunity.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 36: 121–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roex, Karlijn LA, Huijts, Tim, and Sieben, Inge. 2019. “Attitudes towards Income Inequality: ‘Winners’ versus ‘Losers’ of the Perceived Meritocracy.” Acta Sociologica 62 (1): 47–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rothstein, Bo, and Uslaner, Eric M.. 2005. “All for All: Equality, Corruption, and Social Trust.” World Politics 58 (1): 41–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Michael L. 2010. “Perceived Corruption, Distributive Justice, and the Legitimacy of the System of Social Stratification in the Czech Republic.” Communist and Post-Communist Studies 43: 439–451.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snijders, Tom A.B., and Bosker, Roel J.. 2011. Multilevel analysis: an introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling, 2nd edn, London: Sage.Google Scholar
Tingley, Dustin, Yamamoto, Teppei, Hirose, Kentaro, Keele, Luke, and Imai, Kosuke. 2014. “Mediation: R Package for Causal Mediation Analysis.” Journal of Statistical Software 59 (5): 1–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torgler, Benno. 2003. “Tax Morale, Rule-Governed Behaviour and Trust.” Constitutional Political Economy 14 (2): 119–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treisman, Daniel. 2007. “What Have We Learned about the Causes of Corruption from Ten Years of Cross-National Empirical Research?” Annual Review of Political Science 10 (1): 211–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treisman, Daniel. 2014. “What Does Cross-National Empirical Research Reveal about the Causes of Corruption?” in Routledge Handbook of Political Corruption, edited by Heywood, Paul, 95–109. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Uslaner, Eric M. 2002. The Moral Foundation of Trust, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, Ching-Hsing. 2016. “Government Performance, Corruption, and Political Trust in East Asia.” Social Science Quarterly 97 (2): 221–231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warren, Mark E. 2004. “What Does Corruption Mean in Democracy?” American Journal of Political Science 48 (2): 328–343.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Welzel, Christian. 2011. “The Asian Values Thesis Revisited: Evidence from the World Values Surveys.” Japanese Journal of Political Science 12 (1): 1–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, Timothy Ka-ying, Wan, Po-san, and Hsiao, Hsin-Huang Michael. 2011. “The Bases of Political Trust in Six Asian Societies: Institutional and Cultural Explanations Compared.” International Political Science Review 32 (3): 263–281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wroe, Andrew, Allen, Nicholas, and Birch, Sarah. 2013. “The Role of Political Trust in Conditioning Perceptions of Corruption.” European Political Science Review 5 (2): 175–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yamamura, Eiji. 2014. “Trust in Government and its Effect on Preferences for Income Redistribution and Perceived Tax Burden.” Economics of Governance 15 (1): 71–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
You, Jong-sung. 2012. “Social Trust: Fairness Matters More than Homogeneity.” Political Psychology 33 (5): 701–721.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zmerli, Sonja, and Castillo, Juan Carlos. 2015. “Income Inequality, Distributive Fairness and Political Trust in Latin America.” Social Science Research 52: 179–192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Supplementary material: File

Chang supplementary material

Chang supplementary material

Download Chang supplementary material(File)
File 74.7 KB