Publication

This paper investigates how different electoral rules influence political corruption. The authors argue that closed-list proportional representation systems are most susceptible to corruption relative to open-list proportional representation and plurality systems. They also examine interaction effects between electoral rules and other institutional forms, namely presidentialism, federalism and bi-cameralism. Empirical findings, from the authors' cross-section of 105 governments, support their theoretical hypothesis that closed-list PR systems, especially together with presidentialism, are associated with higher levels of corruption.