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Comparative political corruption: Issues of operationalization and measurement

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Abstract

As with other areas of comparative political inquiry, analyses of political corruption must carefully negotiate around numerous methodological issues. In this article, we focus primarily on problems of operationalization and measurement of corruption. We evaluate the major examples of cross-country measures of corruption that have recently emerged and review research that has incorporated the new measures. We end with a discussion of an alternative method for the cross-national measurement and analysis of corruption, one that might also facilitate the goal of establishing universal principles and causal claims about political corruption.

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Authors
  1. Thomas D. Lancaster
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  2. Gabriella R. Montinola
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Additional information

Thomas D. Lancaster is associate professor of political science at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. His research and teaching interests include comparative politics, with a specialization in western and southern European politics, and the logic of comparative political inquiry.

Gabriella R. Montinola is assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Davis. Her current research focuses on economic development, interest representation, and the causes and consequences of political corruption. She is the author or co-author of articles in various journals, includingWorld Politics, Journal of Democracy, andBritish Journal of Political Science.

The authors would like to thank Richard Doner, Robert Jackman, and the editor and referees ofSCID for their helpful comments.

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Lancaster, T.D., Montinola, G.R. Comparative political corruption: Issues of operationalization and measurement. St Comp Int Dev 36, 3–28 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686202

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