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A Multitrait-Multimethod approach to pinpoint the validity of aggregated governance indicators

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Abstract

This study scrutinizes the construct validity of three corruption indices by assessing their discriminant and convergent validity in reference to democracy and the shadow economy with a Multitrait-Multimethod technique. It turns out that prominent indices of corruption (such as the Corruption Perception Index) do not only measure a country’s level of corrupt activities but also the degree of democracy due to their multidimensionality. While the convergent validity of corruption indices is warranted, discriminant validity must be considered as rather low. This implies problems like collinearity if multidimensional constructs are used for multivariate analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Sociology, Department for Macrosociology, Dresden University of Technology, 01062, Dresden, Germany

    Robert Neumann

  2. Department of Sociology, Universität der Bundeswehr, 85579, Neubiberg, Germany

    Peter Graeff

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  1. Robert Neumann
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  2. Peter Graeff
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Correspondence to Robert Neumann.

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Neumann, R., Graeff, P. A Multitrait-Multimethod approach to pinpoint the validity of aggregated governance indicators. Qual Quant 44, 849–864 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-009-9238-7

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