The Limitations of Education for Addressing Corruption: Lessons from Attitudes Towards Reporting in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

Educated citizens are often considered more likely to report corruption; this belief shapes anti-corruption campaigns. However, we know little about how other factors may interact with education’s impact on willingness to report corruption. This paper examines data from a household survey undertaken in Papua New Guinea. We find that when respondents were better educated and believed corruption would be addressed by the government, they were more willing to report various types of corruption to officials. However, the positive effects of education on willingness to report corruption are significantly diminished when citizens lacked trust that authorities would address corruption.

Keywords: Corruption, reporting, education, institutional trust, Papua New Guinea

JEL Classification: H5, O2