Observational analysis reveals uneven anti-corruption reform across institutional sectors, suggesting target control and political costs drive international compliance.
Key Points
This study investigates why international anti-corruption compliance varies across institutional sectors within countries rather than solely at the national level.
Analyzed original compliance data from the Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) across institutional sectors (prosecutors, judges, and members of parliament).
Evaluated the interaction between the political costs of proposed reforms and the institutional control targeted actors hold over implementation.
Compliance varies strongly by sector: recommendations targeting prosecutors show the highest implementation rates, followed by those for judges, whereas recommendations for members of parliament have the lowest compliance.
Sector-specific political economy incentives strongly predict reform outcomes, whereas country-level variables show little evidence of shaping compliance.