Bribing and Social Desirability in Peru: A Mixed Methods Approach

. Objective/Context: What could lead some individuals to be more prone to lie about engaging in corruption? We contend that a psychological approach to the study of corruption can be employed to understand who lies about corrupt behavior and why. Since social desirability bias (SDB) is related to the appropriateness of behavior, conflicting social norms in a context where corruption is widespread— like in several Latin American countries—can result in SDB in the context of surveys that directly ask for past corrupt behavior. Moreover, due to conflicting norms, some subgroups of the population might be particularly affected by SDB. Methodology : Together, focus groups, list experiments, and survey data provide evidence that supports our psychological approach. Conclusion : Overall, we confirm that SDB is at work even in a context in which corruption is widespread like Peru. Statistically speaking, we only find evidence in support of the existence of gender socialization as an important source of SDB when directly reporting past bribing behavior in Peru. However, other substantive—not statistically significant—differences related to age merit further discussion and research. Originality : This work has two main contributions; first, it highlights the importance designing unobtrusive measures when studying the prevalence of corrupt practices in Latin America; and second, it shows that policy interventions to fight corruption may not be equally effective across different groups of the population. os referentes sociais poderiam explicar as diversas atitudes e comportamentos dentro da sociedade. Metodologia : os grupos focais, o experimento de lista ( list experiment ) e os dados de enquetes oferecem evidência que apoia nossa abordagem psicológica. Conclusão : em geral, confirmamos que o SDB funciona inclusive num contexto no qual a corrupção está muito propagada, como no Peru. Quanto ao aspecto estatístico, evidenciou-se que a socialização de gênero é uma fonte importante de SDB quando é informada diretamente sobre comportamento de suborno no passado. Contudo, outras diferenças substanciais, não estatisticamente significativas, relacionadas com a idade, merecem maior discussão e pesquisa. Originalidade : este trabalho tem duas contribuições principais: primeira, destaca a importância de elaborar medidas discretas ao estudar a prevalência de práticas corruptas na América Latina; segunda, mostra que as intervenções de política para combater a corrupção podem não ser igualmente efetivas em diferentes grupos da população. Pontificia Católica del and fees were to as Each began giving the a visual stimulus, for example, a picture of a policeman and a common citizen with an envelope be- tween them and the phrase “thank you very much” being said by the citizen. The picture was purposely ambiguous and neutral. After the participants were asked to describe what was happening in the image, why could this be happening, to relate it to their own experiences, to discuss how acceptable these situations are, and collectively assign a score to each one. Next, participants were asked for their definition of corruption and its components. They were then presented with a series of situations and to determine whether they fit into their concept of corruption. Finally, participants were asked to evaluate the prevalence of corruption in the national context. We can send a copy of the questionnaire upon request.