Bribery, secrecy, and communication: theory and evidence from firms

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
Year: 2026
Volume: 241
Issue: C

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper studies if firms pay different types of bribes, and if corrupt bureaucrats have perfect information about resources of bribe-paying firms. We construct a model of corruption that allows for multiple informational scenarios in a single market for bribes and empirically test these scenarios on the original dataset of 429 firms operating in Tajikistan. The results indicate that firms simultaneously make voluntary and involuntary bribe payments, firms hide resources from corrupt bureaucrats to reduce involuntary bribe payments, and bureaucrats who receive voluntary bribe payments do not share bribery-relevant information with other bureaucrats.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jeborg:v:241:y:2026:i:c:s0167268125004834
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-02-02