Corruption and Extremism
47 Pages Posted: 26 May 2021
There are 2 versions of this paper
Corruption and Extremism
Date Written: May 21, 2021
Abstract
This paper shows that corruption generates extremism, but almost exclusively on the opposition side. When the majority has greater ability to use corruption to obtain her favorite policy outcome from the minority, then the minority group has an incentive to select a more extreme representative because it is more unlikely that such a type will accept a bribe. On the majority side, on the other hand, the perception of more likely use of the corruption tool does not create any distortion in the choice of political representatives. We provide strong causal evidence for these novel predictions using two different types of corruption signals, in Indonesia and Brazil.
Keywords: Corruption, Extremism, Delegation, elections
JEL Classification: D72, D73
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation