Instrumental Approach to Institutional Corruption

Explaining Performance‐Conditional Acceptance of Corruption Among Citizens in European Countries

Bibliographic Data

ID19480248
AuthorsShlomo Mizrahi (0000-0001-6531-6557, corresponding author), Shani Bar
Year2026
Publication date2026-06-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRegulation & Governance (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1748-5983 • E-ISSN: 1748-5991
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/rego.70175
OpenAlexW7164506776
LanguageEN
References cited43

This article explores the mechanisms through which institutional corruption and engagement in corruption at the societal level may be normalized to the extent that citizens adopt an instrumental approach to corruption. Such an approach means that the public accepts corrupt practices and sees them as reasonable, as long as they achieve results that they see as beneficial. We develop a theoretical framework that includes institutional and behavioral independent variables. We then test our research model using survey data collected from citizens of 27 European countries from Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer. The findings indicate that the mechanism through which citizens form their perceptions of institutional corruption as instrumental is complex. The normalization of corruption in society does not lead people to rule out process considerations, but it does weaken them among certain segments of the population. Thus, considerations about the outcomes of corrupt activities and the fairness of processes coexist

Accountability · European Social Survey · Instrumental variable · Language change · Perception · Survey data collection · Corruption and Economic Development · E-Government and Public Services · Regulation and Compliance Studies