Measuring corruption: whose perceptions should we rely on? Evidence from Iceland
The extent of corruption in Iceland is highly contested. International corruption measures indicate a relatively small amount of corruption while domestic public opinion suggest a serious corruption problem. Thus, uncertainty prevails about the actual extent of corruption and whose perceptions to re...
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Stofnun stjórnsýslufræða og stjórnmála við Háskóla Íslands
2016
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/231 https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.2 |
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ftopinvisindi:oai:opinvisindi.is:20.500.11815/231 2024-09-15T18:13:17+00:00 Measuring corruption: whose perceptions should we rely on? Evidence from Iceland Erlingsson, Gissur Kristinsson, Gunnar Helgi Stjórnmálafræðideild (HÍ) Faculty of Political Science (UI) Félagsvísindasvið (HÍ) School of Social Sciences (UI) Háskóli Íslands University of Iceland 2016 215-236 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/231 https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.2 en eng Stofnun stjórnsýslufræða og stjórnmála við Háskóla Íslands Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla;12(2) http://www.irpa.is/article/viewFile/2483/pdf Gissur Ólafur Erlingsson, Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson. (2016). Measuring corruption: whose perceptions should we rely on? Evidence from Iceland. Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla, 12(2), 215-236. Doi:10.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.2 1670-679X (e-ISSN) 1670-6803 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/231 Icelandic Review of Politics & Administration Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla doi:10.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.2 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Corruption Corruption Perception Index Iceland Spilling Kannanir Skilningur info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2016 ftopinvisindi https://doi.org/20.500.11815/23110.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.2 2024-07-09T03:01:56Z The extent of corruption in Iceland is highly contested. International corruption measures indicate a relatively small amount of corruption while domestic public opinion suggest a serious corruption problem. Thus, uncertainty prevails about the actual extent of corruption and whose perceptions to rely on. This problem is relevant for corruption research in general. Perceptions are increasingly used as proxies for the actual levels of corruption in comparative research. But we still do not know enough about the accuracy of these proxies or the criteria they must meet in order to give dependable results. In fact, radical differences exist concerning evaluations of perceptions between those who believe in unbiased learning and those believing perceptual bias to be widespread. The purpose of this article is, therefore, to attempt to gauge which factors may influence how perceptions of corruption are shaped and why differences in corruption perceptions between different groups may be so pronounced. We present findings from original survey data from three parallel surveys – among the "public", experts, and "municipal practitioners" – conducted in Iceland in 2014. Expectations based on the perceptual bias approach are tested, indicating that perceptions may be affected by (1) information factors, (2) direct experience of corruption and (3) emotive factors. The validity of perception measures should be considered with this in mind. Domestic experts are likely to be well informed and avoid perceptual bias to a greater extent than other groups. Our examination of the Icelandic case suggests that the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) tends to underestimate corruption problems in "mature welfare states", such as Iceland, whilst the general public tends to overestimate it. Peer Reviewed Ritrýnt tímarit Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Opin vísindi (Iceland) Veftímaritið Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla 12 2 215 |
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Opin vísindi (Iceland) |
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English |
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Corruption Corruption Perception Index Iceland Spilling Kannanir Skilningur |
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Corruption Corruption Perception Index Iceland Spilling Kannanir Skilningur Erlingsson, Gissur Kristinsson, Gunnar Helgi Measuring corruption: whose perceptions should we rely on? Evidence from Iceland |
topic_facet |
Corruption Corruption Perception Index Iceland Spilling Kannanir Skilningur |
description |
The extent of corruption in Iceland is highly contested. International corruption measures indicate a relatively small amount of corruption while domestic public opinion suggest a serious corruption problem. Thus, uncertainty prevails about the actual extent of corruption and whose perceptions to rely on. This problem is relevant for corruption research in general. Perceptions are increasingly used as proxies for the actual levels of corruption in comparative research. But we still do not know enough about the accuracy of these proxies or the criteria they must meet in order to give dependable results. In fact, radical differences exist concerning evaluations of perceptions between those who believe in unbiased learning and those believing perceptual bias to be widespread. The purpose of this article is, therefore, to attempt to gauge which factors may influence how perceptions of corruption are shaped and why differences in corruption perceptions between different groups may be so pronounced. We present findings from original survey data from three parallel surveys – among the "public", experts, and "municipal practitioners" – conducted in Iceland in 2014. Expectations based on the perceptual bias approach are tested, indicating that perceptions may be affected by (1) information factors, (2) direct experience of corruption and (3) emotive factors. The validity of perception measures should be considered with this in mind. Domestic experts are likely to be well informed and avoid perceptual bias to a greater extent than other groups. Our examination of the Icelandic case suggests that the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) tends to underestimate corruption problems in "mature welfare states", such as Iceland, whilst the general public tends to overestimate it. Peer Reviewed Ritrýnt tímarit |
author2 |
Stjórnmálafræðideild (HÍ) Faculty of Political Science (UI) Félagsvísindasvið (HÍ) School of Social Sciences (UI) Háskóli Íslands University of Iceland |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Erlingsson, Gissur Kristinsson, Gunnar Helgi |
author_facet |
Erlingsson, Gissur Kristinsson, Gunnar Helgi |
author_sort |
Erlingsson, Gissur |
title |
Measuring corruption: whose perceptions should we rely on? Evidence from Iceland |
title_short |
Measuring corruption: whose perceptions should we rely on? Evidence from Iceland |
title_full |
Measuring corruption: whose perceptions should we rely on? Evidence from Iceland |
title_fullStr |
Measuring corruption: whose perceptions should we rely on? Evidence from Iceland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Measuring corruption: whose perceptions should we rely on? Evidence from Iceland |
title_sort |
measuring corruption: whose perceptions should we rely on? evidence from iceland |
publisher |
Stofnun stjórnsýslufræða og stjórnmála við Háskóla Íslands |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/231 https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.2 |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_relation |
Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla;12(2) http://www.irpa.is/article/viewFile/2483/pdf Gissur Ólafur Erlingsson, Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson. (2016). Measuring corruption: whose perceptions should we rely on? Evidence from Iceland. Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla, 12(2), 215-236. Doi:10.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.2 1670-679X (e-ISSN) 1670-6803 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/231 Icelandic Review of Politics & Administration Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla doi:10.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.2 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/20.500.11815/23110.13177/irpa.a.2016.12.2.2 |
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Veftímaritið Stjórnmál og stjórnsýsla |
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12 |
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215 |
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