Economic Crisis and Corruption in the European Union

Although significant attention has been paid to the impact of the recent economic crisis on European economies, less attention has been devoted to the association between the economic crisis and corruption. Utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM), the present study investigated the structural relationship between the economic crisis and perceptions of corruption in the European Union. Standard and multilevel SEM was used to estimate the relationship between the economic crisis and perceptions of corruption utilizing data from the 2011 Eurobarometer. The results confirmed the hypothesized model. Specifically, the study found a moderately strong direct positive relationship between the economic crisis and perceptions of corruption. The results indicated that a one-size-fits-all policy aimed at combating corruption, or perceptions thereof, is likely to yield inconsistent results.