Public corruption: A study across regions in Italy

This work explores the determinants of public corruption using a regional panel dataset on crimes perpetrated in Italy by public officials against the public administration in combination with a set of demographic and socio-economic variables. The results suggest that both the size and the composition of public spending at the local level explain corruption. We also find that regions where social capital is higher are more likely to face a lower incidence of corruption crimes. Moreover, regions which have historically placed less importance on rooting out corruption may be stuck in a vicious circle of higher levels of corruption.