Candidates, Character, and Corruption

B. Douglas Bernheim, Navin Kartik

NBER Working Paper No. 16530
Issued in November 2010
NBER Program(s):   PE   POL

We study the characteristics of self-selected candidates in corrupt political systems. Potential candidates differ along two dimensions of unobservable character: public spirit (altruism toward others) and honesty (the disutility suffered when selling out to special interests after securing office). Both aspects combine to determine an individual's quality as governor. We characterize properties of equilibrium candidate pools for arbitrary costs of running for office, including the case where those costs become vanishingly small. We explore how policy instruments such as the governor's compensation and anti-corruption enforcement affect the expected quality of governance through candidate self-selection. We also show that self-selection can have surprising implications for the effect of information disclosures concerning candidates' backgrounds.

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An online appendix is available for this publication.

This paper was revised on February 19, 2013

Acknowledgments

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