Interrelation between Institutional Trust, Satisfaction of Economy, and Corruption Perception

ABSTRACTCorruption perception indices are conventionally used as a proxy for mirroring the real corruption level in a country. This article studies the potential impact of the perception of institutional factors on corruption perception. Using a three-year survey dataset from all regions of Armenia, I argue that economic perception and trust in institutions directly and indirectly influence corruption perception by undermining individuals' satisfaction with the country's overall situation. Further mediation analysis manifests that satisfaction with the country's overall situation is the cornerstone linking corruption perception with economic perception and trust in institutions. Policy implications and further research avenues are discussed. Disclosure StatementThe article was initiated when the author was a Fulbright fellow at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and it was accepted for publication when he was a KAAD scholar in Germany.AcknowledgmentsThe author thanks Dmitry Gorenburg and two anonymous reviewers for their time and useful comments on earlier versions.Correction StatementThis article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.Notes1. The World Bank – https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2012/11/28/social-snapshot-and-poverty-in-armenia.print.2. The Caucasus Research Center – Corruption Survey of Households 2008–2010.3. https://www.crrc.am/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2010_Corruption_Household_Survey_Report_English.pdf.4. More detailed description of variables is presented in Appendix B.Additional informationFundingAt the initial stage, the work was supported by the Fulbright scholarship and by KAAD at the latter stage.