Grassroots corruption is one of the difficult problems in grass-roots governance. At present, local government continues to decentralize power to grassroots departments, and a large number of public services and public goods are provided by the grass-roots governments, match with public finances. However, with the expansion of the scale of public finance expenditure at the grass-roots level, it should be especially vigilant about the ineffective expansion caused by the corruption at the grass-roots level. This paper aims to explore the logical relationship between grassroots corruption and fiscal expenditure through literature review, and then put forward some suggestions.
Abstract This study analyzes the impact of a newly emerging type of anti-money laundering regulation that obligates cryptocurrency exchanges to report suspicious transactions to financial authorities. We build a theoretical model for the reporting decision structure of a private bank or cryptocurrency exchange and show that an inferior ability to detect money laundering (ML) increases the ratio of reported transactions to unreported transactions. If a representative money launderer makes an optimal portfolio choice, then this ratio increases further. Our findings suggest that cryptocurrency exchanges will exhibit more excessive reporting behavior under this regulation than private banks. We attribute this result to cryptocurrency exchanges’ inferior ML detection abilities and their proximity to the underground economy.
The paper focuses on the links between cryptocurrencies and corruption. After providing an overview of the literature dealing with the topic, it presents an outline of possible scenarios for how cryptocurrencies can be used in corruption-tainted contracts. The scenarios imply that cryptocurrencies can reduce the costs and risks related to a corruption-tainted contract and make it easier to transfer the corruption-based benefits on an anonymous basis. Their existence also allows corruption-tainted contracts to expand to areas where this did not bring any economic advantages in the past. The paper then explores whether there are any empirical correlations between cryptocurrencies and corruption in different countries. The numbers of Bitcoin automated teller machines (ATM) and cryptocurrency users were used as a proxy for cryptocurrencies and the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) as a proxy for corruption. Although we did not find any clear relationships, we discovered that the largest number of owners or users of cryptocurrencies is in countries with a high prevalence of corruption, but the level of corruption in them did not exceed the critical limit (around the value of 30 points of the CPI index).
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is often thought of as a uniformly positive tool making governments more transparent, accountable, and less corrupt. However, the evidence on it is mixed and often misunderstood. Hence, this article carries out a systematic stocktaking of ICT tools’ impact on corruption, offering a nuanced and context-dependent assessment. The tools reviewed are digital public services, crowdsourcing platforms, whistleblowing tools, transparency portals, distributed ledger technology, and artificial intelligence. We scrutinise the evidence both on ICTs’ anticorruption effectiveness and misuse for corruption. Drawing on the commonalities across technologies, we find that ICT can support anti-corruption by impacting public scrutiny in numerous ways: enabling reporting on corruption, promoting transparency and accountability, facilitating citizen participation and government-citizen interactions. However, ICT can also provide new corruption opportunities through the dark web, cryptocurrencies, or the misuse of technologies such as centralised databases. The introduction of ICT tools does not automatically translate into anti-corruption outcomes; rather, impact hinges on the matching between ICT tools and the local context, including support for and skills in using technology.
The aim of this paper is to present the manipulation possibilities in the operation of information technology. Many authors have already dealt with cryptocurrencies and their investment potential, with special emphasis on bitcoin. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify possible manipulative activities in the segment of information technology about bitcoin as a possible means of fraud in the financial market, especially if it is analysed the trend of its movement and potential financial risk. In this paper, the authors investigate in detail the characteristics of securities by linking them to market manipulations. The authors analyse bitcoin as a relative market and financial unknown, explain its origin and the most significant characteristics, and define the risks in terms of possible market manipulations. Finally, the authors analyse the financial bubble that is created around bitcoin and its impact on the economy. The authors analyse that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are still suitable for fraudulent activities in financial markets and emphasize the importance of institutions in reducing potential risks. Keywords: bitcoin, institutions, bubble
Matthew J. Davis, Thomas Taro Lennerfors, Daniel Tolstoy
Purpose The purpose of the study is to explore, with anchorage in theories about the normalization of corruption, under what conditions blockchain technology can mitigate corruptive practices of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in emerging markets (EMs). Design/methodology/approach By synthesizing a technological perspective and theory on corruption, the authors examine the feasibility of blockchain for fighting corruption in MNEs’ business operations in EMs. Findings Blockchain technology is theorized to have varying mitigating effects on the rationalization, socialization and institutionalization of corruption. The authors provide propositions describing the effects and the limitations of blockchain for mitigating corruption in EMs. Social implications This paper offers a perspective for how to tackle acute business problems and social problems pronounced in international business but also prevailing elsewhere. Originality/value The study contributes to literature in international management by systematically exploring how and under what conditions blockchain can mitigate the normalization of corruption.
Purpose This paper argues that decentralization reforms in Colombia, implemented since the 1980s, have led to the decentralization of political clientelism rather than its demise. Clientelism is a system of political and economic institutions that turns every local democracy into an extractive political institution. The authors theoretically demonstrate that an increase in public resources will increase corruption. Design/methodology/approach The authors develop and test a subnational public choice model, where clientelism in elections and corruption in public administration constitute a stable long-term institutional equilibrium. The model comprises two linked subgames: electoral tournament and corruption in public policy. The model makes two predictions that currently oppose predominant approaches: (1) increasing the severity of jail sentences to electoral crimes increases their price and the predominance of machine politics, instead of improving the quality of electoral tournaments and (2) increasing local governments' public finance increases clientelism in elections and corruption in public administration. Findings The authors find evidence in favor of the theoretical model of curse of public resources, using difference-in-differences estimation with a database 2016–17 of Colombia's 1,034 municipalities. This country is well-suited for our analysis because it has a long-term commitment to formal democratic processes (since 1958), while plagued by endemic corruption and clientelism problems. Originality/value (1) The theoretical approach is innovative and disruptive of current models on the problem, (2) the model builds upon the Colombian situation, a country with prominent corruption and political violence problems regardless of its relatively long-term commitment with free elections (since 1958) and (3) the theoretical discussion is tested using a comprehensive set of difference-in-differences estimations.
Bitcoin is extremely easy to be used in corruption cases due to its pseudonym, easy circulation, easy cross-border and other characteristics. As a decentralized electronic account book, the circulation of regulatory funds is jointly confirmed by each node in the bitcoin network, which can ensure the authenticity of the criminal evidence and is not easy to be lost or damaged. It provides great convenience for evidence collection in bitcoin corruption cases. However, there are also shackles in criminal governance, such as how to prove the subjective intent of the bribe takers, the impact of fluctuations in market value on the identification of the case and, most importantly, how to effectively recover stolen goods across borders. Therefore, the difficulty of bitcoin-related cases does not lie in the “anonymity” that some scholars believe, but lies in the determination of subjective intent, the determination of the amount of the crime and the international judicial assistance in recovering the stolen money.
Research has shown that cognitive, normative, and regulative legitimacy are important for new market emergence. Little known, however, are the conditions and dynamics under which these three forms of legitimacy interact over time and in different institutional settings. In this study, we investigate the emergence and development of the new market for cryptocurrencies (i.e., Bitcoin) using a comprehensive dataset on trading in 49 countries between 2010 and 2020. Our study reveals that all three forms of legitimacy drive Bitcoin trading. Surprisingly, we also found increases in trading volume when Bitcoin was declared illegal and when normative support preceded, rather than followed, regulative legitimacy. Our results shed light on the relationship between cognitive, normative, and regulative legitimacy and their interactions in the emergence and development of a new contested market over time.
Sean Foley, Bart Frijns, Alexandre Garel, Tai‐Yong Roh
We examine the relationship between national culture and a country’s Bitcoin usage. Given that Bitcoin is a high-risk currency/investment that is frequently used for illegal purposes and whose market is relatively opaque, we focus on the cultural dimension of individualism, which has been related to risk-taking behavior and overconfidence. Using unique data that includes the originating country for Bitcoin transactions, we examine the relationship between individualism and a country’s Bitcoin usage for a sample of 80 countries between 2009-2018. We find a significant and positive relationship between a country’s individualism and its use of Bitcoin consistent with cultural values affecting the demand for such high-risk currency/investments.
Edimara Mezzomo Luciano, Odirlei Antônio Magnagnagno, Rodrigo Couto de Souza, Guilherme Costa Wiedenhöft
The recent popularization of distributed ledger technologies, which is better known in the financial sector due to digital currencies, has led to the appearance of numerous applications developed for the blockchain environment. The goal of this research is to investigate how a blockchain can contribute to the reduction of the vulnerabilities to corruption in the Brazilian context. Two stages of a literature review have been performed. The first identified the vulnerabilities to corruption in the Brazilian context and the second one identified the effective uses of blockchain characteristics. Subsequently, a deductive analysis was performed, aiming to verify which of the Blockchain initiatives presented could be potentially applied in the fight against corruption. This study points out ways to mitigate fraud and other causes of corruption to help regain society's trust in state institutions in Brazil, which has been suffering over the years from corruption scandals. Additionally, a research agenda leading to anti-corruption studies has been discussed.
Corruption or frauds has become common terms which are associated with government bodies working across the globe. It often leads to several social and economic problems, if remain unchecked. Increase in the rate of corruption adversely affects the development of any country. The government funds or money which is intended for the welfare of the public goes in the pocket of greedy officers. This research work is aimed to reduce corruption or frauds using blockchain technology. To establish our framework, we have worked on a generic scenario in which a government has various schemes running for the welfare of common people and the funds are disbursed through a layered architecture of government passing through various organisations. Non-transparency, poor management of government records, delay in verification process can lead to corruption in various schemes at various levels. Blockchain being a transparent, immutable and decentralized mechanism is found to be a mightier technology which can help fighting corruption in the experimental generic scenario.
This chapter examines the linkages and hierarchy of Bangladesh&s;s local governments. It focuses on the structure as of the mid-1980s, and considers how the organization of local governments was changed in order to achieve greater decentralization. The chapter reviews the structure of the administrative system and then the structure of local governments. The structure of local government in Bangladesh is complex, largely because of the shared responsibility between central and local governments for administering and financing different public sector functions. Bangladesh&s;s local government hierarchy is at least as complex as its administrative structure. Local government has a long history on the South Asian subcontinent. Local governments in urban areas function in a manner similar to the union parishads in rural areas. Each paurashava is divided into wards for the election of commissioners and there are a set number of commissioners prescribed in the Ordinance.
Blockchain technology is an electronic ledger of digital records that is distributed over a network of computers rather than located on single or multiple servers. As the technology is by itself transparent and secure even without a trusted third party involvement, many applications are being developed as a means of eliminating corruption around the world. This article examines how the blockchain technology could be used to curb corruption and take integrity to higher standards at a firm level, within-country level and cross-country level. Possible risks and challenges related to the technology were identified and found that without considering the data governance and security issues, the blockchain technology may not always lead to a socio-economic benefit.
De forma acadêmica e construtiva, sem pretender esgotar o assunto, a presente pesquisa tem como objetivo realizar um estudo jurídico e econômico do bitcoin, que é a espécie de moeda virtual mais utilizada no mundo, mediante as ferramentas metodológicas da Análise Econômica do Direito, demonstrando como o uso de bitcoins nas transações realizadas pela empresa em recuperação pode reduzir os custos de transação e contribuir para uma recuperação judicial menos custosa, mais célere e mais eficiente, colaborando, ainda, para que a recuperação judicial cumpra os seus objetivos previstos no art. 47 da Lei n. 11.101/05, quais sejam, viabilizar a superação da situação de crise econômico-financeira do devedor, a manutenção da fonte produtora, bem como do emprego dos trabalhadores e dos interesses dos credores, promovendo, assim, a preservação da empresa, sua função social e o estímulo à atividade econômica
Mawuko Dza, Evan Kyeremeh ., Simon S. K. Dzandu ., Samuel Afran .
The paper probes corruption in public procurement in Ghana. The research, which focused on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) across the country, revealed widespread corruption in the public service of Ghana. Notable procurement related corrupt practices unraveled included influence peddling, inflating contract sums, payment for non-existing contracts, deliberate contract splitting, multiple payments for contracts, use of phantom vendors and misapplication of public funds. The study further noted that some principal officers such as Coordinating Directors, Finance Officers, Budget and Planning officers, Engineers, Internal Auditors, Stores and Procurement officers, as well as government representatives misappropriate funds meant for development projects in their catchment areas, while staff looked on unconcerned. The research also discovered how Internal and external auditors ostensibly “train” principal officers on how to conceal corrupt practices in return for money and other rewards. The study is significant because the concept of decentralization was introduced to enable MMDAs to effectively and efficiently manage resources for the development of their communities. The concept has been defeated as some public servants connive with external auditors and other stakeholders to amass wealth at the expense of the generality of the people. A worrying phenomenon is the culture of silence by employees who are witnesses to most of these corrupt practices. Indeed, our findings show that most public servants are nonchalant about the act of corruption perpetuated by colleague workers. Essentially, some employees see nothing wrong with their principal officers and other colleagues indulging in acts of corruption, their reason being that they might do same when they assume similar positions in future. With this revelation, the onus is on government not to only adopt a combative strategy in dealing with the incidence of corruption. Rather, it is recommended that a blend of combative and the moral suasion strategies be adopted if the fight against corruption is to achieve desired results.