The impact of an unexpected wage cut on corruption: Evidence from a “Xeroxed” exam

Oana Borcan; Mikael Lindahl; Andreea Mitrut

doi:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.08.003

The impact of an unexpected wage cut on corruption: Evidence from a “Xeroxed” exam

Oana Borcan, Mikael Lindahl, Andreea Mitrut

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)

22 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper aims to understand how corruption responds to an income loss. We exploit an unexpected 25% wage cut incurred in 2010 by all Romanian public sector employees, including the public education staff. We investigate a corruptible high-stake exam taking place shortly after the wage announcement. To measure corruption we compare changes in exam outcomes from 2007 to 2010 between public and private schools, as the latter were not affected by the policy. We find that the wage loss induced better exam outcomes in public than in private schools and we attribute this difference to increased corruption by public educators.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	32-47
Number of pages	16
Journal	Journal of Public Economics
Volume	120
Early online date	15 Aug 2014
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.08.003
Publication status	Published - Dec 2014

Keywords

austerity measures
bribes
public school principals
high-stakes exams

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10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.08.003

Accepted manuscriptAccepted author manuscript, 1.34 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Oana Borcan
- O.Borcanuea.acuk
- School of Economics - Associate Professor in Economics
- Centre for Behavioural and Experimental Social Science - Member
- Applied Econometrics And Finance - Member
- Behavioural Economics - Member
- Behavioural and Experimental Development Economics - Member
Person: Research Group Member, Academic, Teaching & Research

19 Citations (Scopus)
1 Article

Fighting corruption in education: What works and who benefits?
Borcan, O., Lindahl, M. & Mitrut, A., 1 Feb 2017, In: American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. 9, 1, p. 180-209 30 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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39 Citations (Scopus)

54 Downloads (Pure)

Cite this

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The impact of an unexpected wage cut on corruption: Evidence from a “Xeroxed” exam

Abstract

Keywords

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Oana Borcan

Research output

Fighting corruption in education: What works and who benefits?

Cite this