The Rationalization of Political Corruption

16 Pages Posted: 29 Jun 2011

See all articles by Chad Rector

Chad Rector

Marymount University

Allen Gannett

George Washington University

Date Written: March 23, 2011

Abstract

We examine whether and how public sector officials who commit acts of corruption rationalize their behavior as a psychological defense mechanism. We created a database of corrupt officials who had been accused of corrupt acts, supplemented with several in-depth interviews, and found that corrupt officials do rationalize corruption in ways broadly similar to patterns found among corrupt private-sector actors. The evidence we have gathered so far is insufficient to show how this rationalization occurs, but we conclude noting some potential lines of future research.

Keywords: corruption, psychology, rationalization

Suggested Citation

Rector, Chad and Gannett, Allen, The Rationalization of Political Corruption (March 23, 2011). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1873647 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1873647

Chad Rector (Contact Author)

Marymount University ( email )

2807 N. Globe Rd
Arlington, VA 22207-4299
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.chadrector.net

Allen Gannett

George Washington University ( email )

2121 I Street NW
Washington, DC 20052
United States

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