Corruption, Economic Satisfaction, and Confidence in Government: Evidence from Argentina

Recently, corruption has been the focus of a number of articles in developmental economics and, increasingly, in political science. While the economics literature has shown the considerable economic impact of corruption, especially on developing economies, the political science literature is only beginning to appreciate the political consequences of corruption. Using data from Argentina, this paper argues that the political and economic effects of corruption are not independent; indeed they are clearly linked in the minds of citizens. The implications of these findings are important for the way that we conceive of economic voting in countries with high levels of corruption. Further, this analysis provides clues about the persistence of corruption in some countries.