CORRUPTION INDEXES

 

Regional Corruption Monitoring in
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, and Yugoslavia

March 2001

 

CONTENTS

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

CORRUPTION INDEXES

MAIN PROBLEMS FACED BY THE BALKAN COUNTRIES

ATTITUDES TOWARDS CORRUPTION

INVOLVEMENT IN CORRUPT PRACTICES

ASSESSMENTS OF THE SPREAD OF CORRUPTION

CORRUPTION EXPECTATIONS

 

The present report outlines the key findings of the Regional Corruption Monitoring carried out in seven countries of South Eastern Europe - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), and Croatia. The surveys conducted in these countries were based on the methodology of the Corruption Monitoring System of Coalition 2000 and marked the beginning of the implementation of a Regional Corruption Monitoring System of SELDI. The main goal of this comparative analysis of the seven countries from the Balkan region is to show the public significance of the problem of corruption and the extent to which corruption has penetrated into the various elements of society.

 

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

Sample Size
 National representative survey of the population aged 18+ in each country.

Sample Size
Albania
1001
Bosnia and Herzegovina
1000
Bulgaria
1158
Macedonia
1000
Romania
1000
Croatia
1000
Serbia
976
Montenegro
604

Survey method
 The survey method used is face-to-face interview.

Field work
Field work was conducted between September 15, 2000 - February 13, 2001.

 

CORRUPTION INDEXES

 

MAIN PROBLEMS FACED BY THE BALKAN COUNTRIES

The most important problems of the Balkan countries at present are social and economic - unemployment, poverty, low incomes. The issues related to government, the political system, and ethnic tensions increasingly tend to be considered of secondary importance among public priorities. By its scope and depth, the problem of corruption is serious importance to the countries in the region. Its importance is accounted for by the fact that corruption tends to infiltrate economic life, governments, political systems, and institutional structures in these societies.

TABLE 1. MAIN PROBLEMS IN THE COUNTRIES OF SEE

v

Albania

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Macedonia

Romania

Croatia

Serbia

Montenegro

Unemployment
44,40%
60,90%
67,80%
75,30%
39,50%
66,00%
30,30%
53,10%

Low incomes
39,30%
39,60%
49,00%
62,00%
41,30%
39,10%
39,20%
35,60%

Poverty
24,40%
29,80%
41,50%
1,10%
50,60%
31,60%
39,70%
34,80%

Corruption
60,80%
47,60%
37,50%
35,10%
59,90%
41,70%
37,20%
30,80%

Crime
36,00%
32,90%
25,70%
27,60%
10,20%
33,50%
44,10%
31,50%

High prices
24,00%
10,90%
22,40%
25,40%
35,60%
27,30%
24,70%
21,20%

Political instability
49,60%
37,00%
17,00%
33,20%
29,90%
20,10%
47,80%
59,30%

Health Care
3,70%
9,90%
14,00%
7,20%
17,40%
7,10%
8,70%
4,00%

Environment pollution
5,20%
3,80%
2,70%
6,00%
1,60%
2,80%
2,50%
4,80%

Education
3,90%
4,60%
2,10%
3,70%
7,90%
4,40%
6,30%
4,50%

Ethnic problems
3,00%
15,60%
1,70%
14,90%
2,40%
7,00%
10,20%
8,60%

* The total of percentages exceeds 100 as respondents could give up to three answers

ATTITUDES TOWARDS CORRUPTION

Acceptability in Principle

This index reflects the extent to which various corrupt practices are tolerated within the value system.

Its value is highest in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Croatia, and lowest, in Bulgaria and Romania. This substantial difference indicates that, in terms of their value system, the citizens of the first four countries are more inclined to accept the existence of corrupt practices in their societies than those in the remaining states. The generally low values of the index in the countries of the region (with the exception of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina) show that corruption is widely perceived as morally inadmissible. As a whole, the level of tolerance in principle of the various corrupt practices is relatively low.

FIGURE 1. ACCEPTABILITY IN PRINCIPLE

Susceptibility to corruption

This index measures citizens' inclination to compromise on their values under the pressure of practical circumstances.

In all countries the value of this index is higher than the preceding one. This means that the moral denunciation of corruption as a negative phenomenon does not exclude the existence and efficiency of corrupt practices in everyday practice. In cases of conflict between practical interests and value system, many citizens tend to compromise on their principles to achieve their ends. The low tolerance of corrupt behavior and the high susceptibility to such acts are the key preconditions for the following, commonplace philosophy of life: corruption is a "necessary evil" that successfully solves practical problems.

FIGURE 2. SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CORRUPTION

INVOLVEMENT IN CORRUPT PRACTICESINVOLVEMENT IN CORRUPT PRACTICES

Corruption pressure

The index measures the spread of attempts by public sector employees to directly or indirectly pressure citizens in order to solicit money, gifts, or favors.

The values of the index suggest that in the countries of the region involvement in corrupt practices not always a direct outcome of open individual, collective, or institutional coercion. As a whole, corruption pressure in these societies is not particularly intense (with the sole exception of Albania). In the regional context corrupt practices are sustained not so much by social pressure but by the mechanisms of private interests, practical necessity, and personal choice of the citizens and the public sector employees.

FIGURE 3. CORRUPTION PRESSURE

 

Corruption pressure by professional groups

Table 2 shows the considerable differences when determining the degree of direct coercion on the part of public sector employees over the citizens of the seven Balkan countries. Despite the notable presence of specific national characteristics, there is at least one important similarity. It consists in the empirically registered fact that, doctors and public officials (police and customs officers, tax, municipal, and court officials) exert the strongest corruption pressure.

TABLE 2. "IF IN THE COURSE OF THE PAST YEAR IF YOU HAVE BEEN ASKED FOR SOMETHING IN ORDER TO HAVE A PROBLEM OF YOURS SOLVED, YOU WERE ASKED BY:"

v

Albania

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Macedonia

Romania

Croatia

Serbia

Montenegro

Police officer

52,00%

25,70%

24,00%

14,40%

34,00%

24,80%

42,40%

38,40%

Doctor

62,60%

19,90%

22,10%

20,20%

35,10%

16,60%

33,60%

19,50%

Customs officer

55,60%

15,90%

15,80%

21,80%

20,50%

10,50%

42,80%

21,60%

University professor or official

29,00%

9,80%

13,90%

16,30%

15,00%

8,40%

17,20%

8,70%

Administrative official in the judicial system

47,00%

9,90%

11,50%

10,60%

22,30%

6,70%

19,40%

9,40%

Municipal official

52,50%

19,10%

10,30%

11,90%

26,90%

11,30%

27,20%

19,30%

Businessman

30,50%

8,50%

9,70%

13,20%

17,80%

16,10%

31,60%

15,80%

Judge

53,10%

8,30%

9,10%

13,70%

16,60%

5,80%

19,30%

7,00%

Tax official

56,80%

8,80%

8,30%

8,90%

10,60%

6,60%

22,00%

13,30%

Public prosecutor

39,60%

3,80%

7,80%

8,10%

10,30%

2,30%

12,00%

4,30%

Official at a ministry

39,40%

13,90%

7,00%

13,20%

10,30%

8,40%

15,40%

7,20%

Member of parliament

31,20%

2,50%

6,40%

7,80%

4,50%

0,60%

7,10%

0,90%

Investigating officer

32,70%

10,10%

6,00%

6,60%

10,60%

10,90%

15,30%

8,20%

Teacher

15,40%

5,70%

5,50%

6,70%

12,70%

4,50%

11,70%

5,90%

Municipal councilor

38,90%

6,90%

3,20%

7,80%

12,40%

6,50%

10,20%

2,50%

Banker

19,60%

3,60%

2,90%

5,40%

7,80%

5,10%

13,40%

3,30%

* Relative share of those who have had such contacts and have been asked for money, gifts, or services.

Involvement in corrupt practices

This index reflects citizens' reports of their personal involvement in various forms of corrupt behavior.

In terms of actual occurrence, the social reality of corruption in the seven Balkan countries is sustained by a not too large, but stable, segment of the general public and the public sector employees. Notwithstanding a number of specific national features, the younger, the wealthier, the residents of the bigger cities and of the capitals of the Balkan countries, and the better educated are more inclined to adhere to a corruption-based model of behavior than the elderly, those with lower education and living standard, the village and small town residents.

FIGURE 4. INVOLVEMENT IN CORRUPT PRACTICES

 

ASSESSMENTS OF THE SPREAD OF CORRUPTION

Spread of corruption

This index measures citizens' assessments of the spread of corrupt practices among public sector employees.

Although certain differences between countries exist, overall the values of the index are fairly high for all countries. In the highest degree this applies to Romania, but likewise to Albania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Though lower, the values registered in Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro also confirm the above observation. These empirical facts suggest at least two main conclusions. First, according to the public, corruption is widespread in all seven Balkan countries. Second, the findings give reasons to expect that radical changes in these popular assessments are very likely in the foreseeable future.

FIGURE 5. SPREAD OF CORRUPTION


Factors influencing the Spread of corruption

At the level of popular perceptions, the origin of corruption is associated with the social and economic problems of the countries of the region. The most important factor is the manner of functioning of government and its interaction with the public. In Bulgaria, Macedonia and Croatia "the aspiration for fast enrichment of those in power" is cited as the chief factor for the spread of corruption. According to public opinion in the other countries, the main reason for the existence of this social phenomenon is the cheap labor, as well as the ineffectiveness of different elements of social control - legislative, judicial, and administrative.

TABLE 3. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SPREAD OF CORRUPTION

v

Albania

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Macedonia

Romania

Croatia

Serbia

Montenegro

Fast personal enrichment sought by those in power

49,00%

41,90%

57,80%

69,10%

55,60%

49,90%

46,80%

53,00%

Low salaries

67,50%

50,50%

41,60%

56,20%

58,00%

48,70%

52,60%

53,60%

Imperfect legislation

28,80%

42,20%