From corruption to state capture: A new analytical framework with empirical applications from Hungary

Ágnes Czibik

Fazekas, M., Tóth, I. J. (2014). From corruption to state capture: A new analytical framework with empirical applications from Hungary. GTI-WP/2014:01, Budapest: Government Transparency Institute.

State capture and corruption are widespread phenomena across the globe, but their empirical study is still highly challenging. This paper develops a new conceptual and analytical framework for gauging state capture based on micro-level contractual networks in public procurement. To this end, it first establishes a robust measure of corruption risks in public procurement transactions focusing on relationships between pairs of issuers and suppliers. Second, it searches for clusters of high corruption risk organisations in …

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Are EU funds a corruption risk? – The impact of EU funds on grand corruption in Central and Eastern Europe

Ágnes Czibik

Fazekas, M., Chvalkovska, J., Skuhrovec, J., Tóth, I. J., King,  L. P. (2013). Are EU funds a corruption risk? – The impact of EU funds on grand corruption in Central and Eastern Europe. GTI-WP/2013:03, Budapest: Government Transparency Institute.

The paper explores the impact of EU funds on institutionalised grand corruption in public procurement between 2009-2012 in three countries: Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. We analyse a unique pooled database containing contract-level public procurement information for all three countries. We develop a composite corruption risks indicator based on the incidence and logical structure of ‘red flags’ in individual public procurement transactions. …

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Anatomy of grand corruption: A composite corruption risk index based on objective data

Ágnes Czibik

Fazekas, M., Tóth, I. J., King,  L. P. (2013). Anatomy of grand corruption: A composite corruption risk index based on objective data. GTI-WP/2013:02, Budapest: Government Transparency Institute.

Although both the academic and policy communities have attached great importance to measuring corruption, most of the currently available measures are biased and too broad to test theory or guide policy. This article proposes a new composite indicator of grand corruption based on a wide range of elementary indicators. These indicators are derived from a rich qualitative evidence on public procurement corruption and a statistical analysis of a public procurement data in Hungary. …

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Corruption manual for beginners – “Corruption techniques” in public procurement with examples from Hungary

Ágnes Czibik

Fazekas, M., Tóth, I. J., King,  L. P. (2013). Corruption manual for beginners – “Corruption techniques” in public procurement with examples from Hungary. GTI-WP/2013:01, Budapest: Government Transparency Institute.

This paper develops 30 novel quantitative indicators of grand corruption that operationalize 20 distinct techniques of corruption in the context of public procurement. Each indicator rests on a thorough qualitative understanding of rent extraction from public contracts by corrupt networks as evidenced by academic literature, interviews and media content analysis. Feasibility and usefulness of the proposed indicators are demonstrated using micro-level public procurement data from Hungary in 2009-2012. While the prime value …

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The Political Economy of Grand Corruption in Public Procurement in the Construction Sector of Hungary

Ágnes Czibik

Fazekas, M. – Lukács, P. A. – Tóth, I. J.: The Political Economy of Grand Corruption in Public Procurement in the Construction Sector of Hungary. In: Alina Mungiu-Pippidi (ed.): Government Favouritism in Europe. The Anticorruption Report Vol. 3., Barbara Budrich Publishers. Opladen – Berlin – Toronto. 2015. pp. 53-68.

Bidding companies linked to political officeholders are more likely to win in procurement tenders overall in Hungary. The share of companies that are openly connected politically winning public procurement tenders in 2005-2012 was between 5% and 31% depending on how narrowly connections are defined. This significant association is stronger in the …

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