Reported bribe requests among firms in kazakhstan, 2019-2024: direct and indirect questions in the world bank enterprise surveys

In the World Bank Enterprise Surveys, the share of Kazakhstani firms asked for a bribe rose from 11.6% in 2019 to 16.4% in 2024. This can mean more bribery or more candid managers. Following the author's rule, the paper compares a direct question about the firm's own experience (J.5) with an indirect one about "establishments like this one" (J.7) in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. In Kazakhstan both rose (by 5.3 and 4.5 points), but the difference (+0.8, 95% interval -21.4 to +23.0) favours neither reading, also at the lower design effects seen in the neighbours' surveys. Changes by transaction cannot be confirmed with the published standard errors. The author's forecast for the neighbours held in the point estimates.