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The Merit of Meritocratization

Politics, Bureaucracy, and the Institutional Deterrents of Corruption

Bibliographic Data

ID6340522
AuthorsCarl Dahlström (0000-0003-4996-2449, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden), Victor Lapuente (0000-0001-6415-9422, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden), Jan Teorell (0000-0002-0628-0096, Lund University, Lund, Sweden)
Year2012
Volume65
Issue3
Pages656-668
Publication date2012-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitical Research Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1065-9129 • E-ISSN: 1938-274X
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1065912911408109
OpenAlexW1981932895
LanguageEN
Citations received177
References cited49

Comparative studies of corruption focus on the selection and incentives of policymakers. With few exceptions, actors who are in charge of implementing policies have been neglected. This article analyzes an original data set on the bureaucratic features and its effects on corruption in fifty-two countries. Two empirical findings challenge the conventional wisdom in literature. First, certain bureaucratic factors, particularly meritocratic recruitment, reduce corruption, even when controlling for a large set of alternative explanations. Second, the analysis shows that other allegedly relevant bureaucratic factors, such as public employees’ competitive salaries, career stability, or internal promotion, do not have a significant impact

Bureaucracy · Economics · Incentive · Language change · Meritocracy · Microeconomics · Political science · Politics · Promotion (chess · Public economics · Set (abstract data type · Corruption and Economic Development · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Law · Local Government Finance and Decentralization · Public Administration

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Unique citing works177
Citations per year13,62
Citation span2013 - 2026 (14)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedYes
Citation typesNeutral: 174

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