Controlling Corruption: The Social Contract Approach

This book presents a radically new approach of how societies can bring corruption under control.Since the late 1990s, the detrimental effects of corruption to human well-being have become well established in research. This has resulted in a stark increase in anti-corruption programs launched by international organizations such as the World Bank, the African Union, the EU, as well as manynational development organizations. Despite these efforts, evaluations of the effects of these anti-corruption programs have been disappointing. As it can be measured, it is difficult to find substantial effects from such anti-corruption programs.The argument in this book is that this huge policy failure can be explained by three factors. Firstly, it argues that the corruption problem has been poorly conceptualized since what should count as the opposite of corruption has been left out. Secondly, the problem has been located in the wrongsocial spaces. It is neither a cultural nor a legal problem. Instead, it is for the most part located in what organization theory defines as the 'standard operating procedures' in social organizations. Thirdly, the general theory that has dominated anti-corruption efforts - the principal-agenttheory - is based on serious misspecification of the basic nature of the problem. The book presents a reconceptualization of corruption and a new theory - drawing on the tradition of the social contract - to explain it and motivate policies of how to get corruption under control. Several empiricalcases serve to underpin this new theory ranging from the historical organization of religious practices to specific social policies, universal education, gender equality, and auditing. Combined, these amount to a strategic theory known as 'the indirect approach'.

Rothstein, Bo

Legal Theory & Systems

Oxford University Press

About the Author\nBo Rothstein, August Röhss Chair in Political Science, University of Gothenburg\nBo Rothstein is the August Röhss Chair in Political Science, University of Gothenburg and the co-founder of the Quality of Government Institute. A distinguished contributor to debates in political science over many years his books include Just Institutions Matter: The Moral and Political Logic of the Universal Welfare State (Cambridge University Press, 1998) and Making Sense of Corruption (with A Varraich, Cambridge University Press, 2017).\nThis book presents a radically new approach of how societies can bring corruption under control.\nSince the late 1990s, the detrimental effects of corruption to human well-being have become well established in research. This has resulted in a stark increase in anti-corruption programs launched by international organizations such as the World Bank, the African Union, the EU, as well as many national development organizations. Despite these efforts, evaluations of the effects of these anti-corruption programs have been disappointing. As it can be measured, it is difficult to find substantial effects from such anti-corruption programs.\nThe argument in this book is that this huge policy failure can be explained by three factors. Firstly, it argues that the corruption problem has been poorly conceptualized since what should count as the opposite of corruption has been left out. Secondly, the problem has been located in the wrong social spaces. It is neither a cultural nor a legal problem. Instead, it is for the most part located in what organization theory defines as the 'standard operating procedures' in social organizations. Thirdly, the general theory that has dominated anti-corruption efforts -- the principal-agent theory -- is based on serious misspecification of the basic nature of the problem. The book presents a reconceptualization of corruption and a new theory -- drawing on the tradition of the social contract - to explain it and motivate policies of how to get corruption under control. Several empirical cases serve to underpin this new theory ranging from the historical organization of religious practices to 
specific social policies, universal education, gender equality, and auditing. Combined, these amount to a strategic theory known as 'the indirect approach'.

The relationship between government, virtue, and wealth has held a special fascination since Aristotle, and the importance of each frames policy debates today in both developed and developing countries. While it’s clear that low-quality government institutions have tremendous negative effects on the health and wealth of societies, the criteria for good governance remain far from clear. In this pathbreaking book, leading political scientist Bo Rothstein provides a theoretical foundation for empirical analysis on the connection between the quality of government and important economic, political, and social outcomes. Focusing on the effects of government policies, he argues that unpredictable actions constitute a severe impediment to economic growth and development—and that a basic characteristic of quality government is impartiality in the exercise of power. This is borne out by cross-sectional analyses, experimental studies, and in-depth historical investigations. Timely and topical, The Quality of Government tackles such issues as political legitimacy, social capital, and corruption.

The Quality of Government: Corruption, Social Trust, and Inequality in International Perspective

Business & Money

International

University of Chicago Press

The relationship between government, virtue, and wealth has held a special fascination since Aristotle, and the importance of each frames policy debates today in both developed and developing countries. While it’s clear that low-quality government institutions have tremendous negative effects on the health and wealth of societies, the criteria for good governance remain far from clear. In this pathbreaking book, leading political scientist Bo Rothstein provides a theoretical foundation for empirical analysis on the connection between the quality of government and important economic, political, and social outcomes. Focusing on the effects of government policies, he argues that unpredictable actions constitute a severe impediment to economic growth and development—and that a basic characteristic of quality government is impartiality in the exercise of power. This is borne out by cross-sectional analyses, experimental studies, and in-depth historical investigations. Timely and topical, The Quality of Government tackles such issues as political legitimacy, social capital, and corruption.

Economics

Social Traps and the Problem of Trust

Cambridge University Press

In this book Bo Rothstein seeks to defend the universal welfare state against a number of important criticisms that it has faced in recent years. Issues discussed include the relationship between welfare state and civil society, the privatization of social services, and changing values within society. He explains the great variation among contemporary welfare states in terms of differing moral and political logics that have been set in motion by the deliberate choices of political institutions. The book is an important contribution both to philosophical and political debates about the future of the welfare state.

Just Institutions Matter: The Moral and Political Logic of the Universal Welfare State (Theories of Institutional Design)

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

In this book Bo Rothstein seeks to defend the universal welfare state against a number of important criticisms that it has faced in recent years. Issues discussed include the relationship between welfare state and civil society, the privatization of social services, and changing values within society. He explains the great variation among contemporary welfare states in terms of differing moral and political logics that have been set in motion by the deliberate choices of political institutions. The book is an important contribution both to philosophical and political debates about the future of the welfare state.

Social Traps and the Problem of Trust (Theories of Institutional Design)

Bo Rothstein explores how social capital and social trust are generated and what governments can do about it. A 'social trap' is a situation where individuals, groups or organizations are unable to cooperate owing to mutual distrust and lack of social capital, even where cooperation would benefit all. Examples include civil strife, pervasive corruption, ethnic discrimination, depletion of natural resources and misuse of social insurance systems. Much has been written attempting to explain the problem, but rather less material is available on how to escape it.

History

Historical Study & Educational Resources

If one wants to know if politics, and most especially if reformist politics, matters - if, that is, political mobilization can change democratic capitalist societies - then Sweden under the Social Democrats is clearly one of the best empirical cases to study.Bo Rothstein uses the Swedish experience to analyze the limits a social democratic government labors under and the possibilities it enjoys in using the state to implement large-scale social change. He examines closely two SAP programs, one a success and the other a failure, that attempted to change social processes deeply embedded in capitalist society. He ties the outcomes of these programs to the structure of the state and hypothesizes that the outcome depends, to a considerable extent, on how administrative apparatuses responsible for implementing each policy are organized. Rothstein concludes that no matter how wisely a reformist policy is designed nor how strong the political party behind it, if the administrative arrangements are faulty, it will fail at the stage of implementation.

The Social Democratic State: The Swedish Model and the Bureaucratic Problem of Social Reforms (Pitt Series in Policy and Institutional Studies)

Politics & Government

Univ of Pittsburgh Pr

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rothstein, Bo. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Rothstein, Bo

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rothstein, Bo. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Controlling Corruption: The Social Contract Approach

Controlling Corruption: The Social Contract Approach

The Quality of Government: Corruption, Social Trust, and Inequality in International Perspective

The Quality of Government: Corruption, Social Trust, and Inequality in International Perspective

Social Traps and the Problem of Trust

Just Institutions Matter: The Moral and Political Logic of the Universal Welfare State (Theories of Institutional Design)

Just Institutions Matter: The Moral and Political Logic of the Universal Welfare State (Theories of Institutional Design)

Social Traps and the Problem of Trust (Theories of Institutional Design)

Social Traps and the Problem of Trust (Theories of Institutional Design)

The Social Democratic State: The Swedish Model and the Bureaucratic Problem of Social Reforms (Pitt Series in Policy and Institutional Studies)