Institutional Distorsions, Clientelism and Corruption: Evidence from Romania

Abstract

This paper addresses the way in which clientelistic exchanges distort the public institutions’ functions and their relationship to the general public. In the first section, a theoretical model of the relationship between clientelistic exchanges and institutions is put forward, based on the existent literature on the subject. The second section of this paper explores the empirical evidence provided by the case study of Romania. The analysis is based on official documents and data covering the incidence of corruption and the discretionary use of public resources.

Keywords: institutions, clientelism, public spending, corruption