corruption measurement

Improving Public Procurement Outcomes: A Review of Tools and the State of the Evidence Base

Adam, Isabelle; Blum, Jürgen Rene; & Fazekas, Mihály. (2025) Improving Public Procurement Outcomes: A Review of Tools and the State of the Evidence Base. GTI-WP/2025:01, Budapest: Government Transparency Institute.

Considering that about 15% of global GDP flows through public procurement systems, there is a strong need for evidence on what works in this field. This paper systematically reviews the state of the evidence in academic and policy literature on public procurement reforms and their impact on value for money and …

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Developing a data-driven corruption risk model to strengthen integrity in Belgium. Practical considerations for the Federal Internal Audit.

Fazekas, Mihály; Poltoratskaia, Viktoriia; Wells, Helene; & Tierens, Michel. (2025). Developing a data-driven corruption risk model to strengthen integrity in Belgium. Practical considerations for the Federal Internal Audit. OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/e85587eb-en.

In light of increasing demands for transparency and accountability in public finance, digital transformation is emerging as a strategic priority for oversight and integrity institutions. This technical paper explores the experience of Belgium’s Federal Internal Audit (FIA) in developing a data-driven audit risk model, supported by the OECD …

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Measuring the Risk of Corruption and Its Price Impact in North Macedonia 2011–2022

Fazekas, Mihály; Abdou, Aly; Ibrahimi, Klea; Tóth, Bence; & Veljanov, Zdravko (2024) Measuring the Risk of Corruption and Its Price Impact in North Macedonia 2011–2022. Policy Research working paper: WPS11007, Washington, D.C.: World Bank.

Public procurement in North Macedonia amounted to 16 percent of total government expenditure in 2018, or 5 percent of gross domestic product. The country’s public procurement is also vulnerable to corruption risks, which typically push prices up, leading to overspending. To support better budget policies, this …

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A comprehensive review of objective corruption proxies in public procurement: risky actors, transactions, and vehicles of rent extraction

Fazekas, M., Cingolani, L. and Tóth, B. (2016). A comprehensive review of objective corruption proxies in public procurement: risky actors, transactions, and vehicles of rent extraction. GTI-WP/2016:03, Budapest: Government Transparency Institute.

This paper can provide a comprehensive review of quantitative corruption proxies, conceptualise how different indicators capture different aspects of corruption, and identify gaps in the measurement landscape. Institutionalised, well-established corruption in government contracting aims to bypass fair and open competition in order to allocate contracts to companies belonging to …

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From Corruption to State Capture. A New Analytical Framework with Empirical Applications from Hungary

Fazekas, M. – Tóth, I. J. (2016): From Corruption to State Capture. A New Analytical Framework with Empirical Applications from Hungary. Political Research Quarterly, published online before print on March 24, 2016 

http://prq.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/03/18/1065912916639137.abstract

State capture and corruption are widespread phenomena across the globe, but their empirical study still lacks sufficient analytical tools. This paper develops a new conceptual and analytical framework for gauging state capture based on microlevel contractual networks in public procurement. To this end, it establishes a novel …

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Corruption in EU Funds? Europe-wide evidence on the corruption effect of EU funded public contracting

Fazekas, M. and Tóth, I. J. (2015). Corruption in EU Funds? Europe-wide evidence on the corruption effect of EU funded public contracting. GTI-WP/2015:01, Budapest: Government Transparency Institute.

It is theoretically ambiguous and empirically contested whether EU Funds contribute to lower corruption and better governance or the opposite. Many recipient countries benefit to a substantial degree with allocations amounting to 2-4% of their annual GDP. A range of positive and negative cases has been uncovered by the European Commission, national governments …

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Hidden Depths. The Case of Hungary

Fazekas, M. – King, L. P. – Tóth, I. J.: Hidden Depths. The Case of Hungary. In: Alina Mungiu-Pippidi (ed.): Controlling Corruption in Europe. The Anticorruption Report Vol. 1., Barbara Budrich Publishers. Opladen – Berlin – Toronto. 2013. pp. 74-85.

This report investigates corruption risk of EU funds spending in Hungary within the framework of the Public Procurement Law. Its finding is that in spite of what is a tight regulatory framework EU funds are likely to fuel the abuse …

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