ABSTRACT

Emerging research indicates political corruption erodes political trust. However, previous studies have not adequately explored the question of whether corruption by a policy actor can spill over to influence trust in other policy actors. We draw insight from research and theory on collective reputation of organisations among other literature to explain why political corruption can produce reputational spillovers. Using individual-level Afrobarometer survey data from ten countries in the Southern African Development Community, one of the world’s corruption hotspots, the analysis reveals perceived involvement in corruption by a policy actor can spill over to tarnish the reputation of other actors involved in the policy process. State and nonstate policy actors like politicians, judges, bureaucrats and traditional leaders in some measure share a collective reputation and fate. We offer suggestions on how to combat corruption in ways that minimise spillovers and safeguard a shared reputation.

摘要

新兴研究表明，政治腐败会侵蚀政治信任。然而，之前的研究并未充分探讨政策参与者的腐败是否会溢出影响对其他政策参与者的信任。我们从其他文献中关于组织集体声誉的研究和理论中汲取见解，以解释为什么政治腐败会产生声誉溢出效应。使用来自南部非洲发展共同体（世界腐败热点之一）十个国家的个人层面的 Afrobarometer 调查数据，该分析表明，政策行为者被认为参与腐败可能会蔓延到参与政策过程的其他行为者的声誉. 国家和非国家政策参与者，如政客、法官、官僚和传统领导人在某种程度上共享共同的声誉和命运。我们就如何以最小化溢出效应和维护共同声誉的方式打击腐败提出建议。