Nepotism: One Concept, Three Measurement Strategies. A Comparative Analysis in the Mexican Judiciary

Nepotism has attracted growing scholarly and policy interest as it has proven resilient to reforms in the civil service and other state institutions, undermining public confidence and the provision of public goods and services. Empirical studies on nepotism implicitly acknowledge that it is composed of two distinguishable attributes, a family tie and its misuse, but most of them measure only one of them casting doubt on their conclusions. This paper provides a clear definition of nepotism, unpacks the concept, and evaluates the validity, reliability, and replicability of three measurement strategies to capture it systematically: matching surnames, identifying family ties, and surveying perceptions. We illustrate each measure making use of a wealth of original data from the Mexican Federal Judiciary, offering practical tools for producing an accurate diagnosis of the extent and depth of nepotism in an organization as a key first step to effectively address its causes or its consequences.