Corruption as an obstacle to efficiently fighting the COVID-19 pandemic

Commissioned by: The Institute of Economics, Zagreb
Project duration: February 1, 2021 – January 31, 2022
Project manager: Bruno Škrinjarić
Collaborators: Jelena Budak, Allison Carragher

Summary: 
The PANCORR research project aims to explore the relationship between corruption and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world. The preliminary findings indicate that countries with lower corruption prevalence have evidenced slower pandemic growth, suggesting corruption is an obstacle to fight against the pandemic efficiently and effectively. However, some highly corrupt countries had efficient responses to the COVID-19 pandemic while some societies with low corruption rates have been less efficient. PANCORR will investigate whether countries with widespread corruption are less or more successful in fighting COVID-19 and provide an explanation of factors affecting different levels of achievement. The research will be built on the relevant literature and will use a large dataset for countries worldwide to model the effectiveness of the fight against the pandemic. The data on COVID-19 per country, indices of corruption and governance, indicators of countries’ healthcare systems, and economic and institutional data depicting the political and economic environment in specific countries will be included in the model and tested using regression and panel data methods. It is expected that the project will result in a high-quality scientific paper, which will be presented to academic and interested non-specialist audiences and sent for publication to an appropriate scientific journal.
 

RESEARCH AREA: Institutions