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This thesis argues that colonization plays a major role in corruption in developing countries. There are different types of corruption: bribery, fraud, and institutional corruption. They occur often, and in some instances, these habits were developed as a result of the colonizers influencing the behaviors of their colonies. Although colonial times seem far back, the characteristics and influences have been deeply engrained in the countries that have long since gained their independence from their colonizers. In the following thesis, I will argue the correlation that colonization and corruption have, while also addressing particular countries in the argument maintaining that there is a link that exists. This case aims to foster an understanding that although there are many causes of corruption, colonization serves as a basis for state development, which in turn affects the presence of corruption. This thesis will reflect research made by scholars regarding corruption and colonization, as well as the theory and hypotheses that support each issue.

The objective of this thesis is to examine if cultural differences in Basque Country and Wallonia can serve as an explanation to their divergence of corruption, in comparison to the rest of their respective countries. The study is carried through using a qualitative approach in combination with a theoretical framework that put emphasis on mainly cultural, but also historical, components to understand political organization and institutions. The difference of corruption levels in the Basque Country in comparison to the rest of Spain and Wallonia to the rest of Belgium, is evident. Therefore, this study strives to create understanding of the regional divergence by examining the differences in culture in these two regions compared to their respective countries in general. Can culturally related factors explain the variety of corruption within a country? The results indicate that it can, to a certain extent.

Until now, the majority of individuals does not hold stocks. In our sample, only 20.5% of individuals directly or indirectly participate in the stock market. Using data from the SHARE Study (N=54,636), we investigate at the individual level the effect of personality traits and at the country level the effect of Quality of Government while controlling for several sociodemographic factors. We prove that Openness to experience and Agreeableness significantly influence stock market participation. Agreeable people who are less open to new experiences are more likely to hold stocks. We also report mixed effects for Conscientiousness, Extraversion and Neuroticism. Extraversion seems to influence stock market participation through its effect on education and Neuroticism through its effect on both education and Quality of Government. Additionally, countries with a higher level of Quality of Government have a higher participation rate. Lastly, we find that the strength of the effects of Openness and Extraversion depends on the level of Quality of Government. We contribute to the explanation of the non-participation puzzle and give implications for policy makers.

The core value of any democracy is the right to freedom of expression and thought. In a system of representative democracy, the citizens vote in regular elections to choose a representative to best govern their interests. Of importance is a chance for citizens to have insight into how the public authorities exercise the power given to them. The principle of public access to information is a fundamental principle in Sweden’s form of government and is supposed to ensure transparency regarding public sector activities. One way to achieve transparency is with the possibility for officials to report alleged illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practices directly to the organization, an act known as whistleblowing. The question of possible corruption in Swedish municipalities has become a topic of discussion. A concern for an extensive silence within the public sector from numerous actors such as media and labor organizations has also arisen.  The contribution of this study is to analyze and evaluate the possibilities provided by Swedish municipalities to encourage internal whistleblowing, as previous research stresses its value for the organizational integrity and ethical climate. Applying a qualitative method, the aim of this thesis is to empirically study policies and documents for implemented whistleblowing systems in Swedish municipalities. The results show that the ways vary in which it is made possible for public employees to blow the whistle within their organization. Most of the reporting channels are managed within the municipality. Possibilities for external reporting, which could strengthen review of reported wrongdoings, are limited. The used definition in Swedish municipalities mainly refers to corruption as a behavior that violates the law. The definition is problematic as it might fail to detect other forms of corruption such as nepotism, cronyism, or discrimination. Implemented whistleblowing systems do not guarantee a high sense of protection for a reporting person. A fear of retaliation could therefore have the effect of employees not reporting. The results of this thesis are of great importance as it shows that Swedish municipalities might not gain information of potential wrongdoings and unethical practices.

Is the risk of civil conflict related to the quality of government? This dissertation contributes to the quantitative research on this topic. First, it provides a more nuanced account of the role of the government in influencing the risk of civil conflict. In doing so, the dissertation bridges a gap between the quantitative literature, which primarily focuses on types of regimes, and the qualitative literature, which emphasizes variations in how political authority is exercised within these institutions. Second, the dissertation introduces novel measures of the quality of government, and tests their association with civil peace across countries, over time. The dissertation consists of an introductory chapter and four separate essays. Essay I examines the risk of conflict across different types of authoritarian regimes. The statistical results suggest that single-party regimes have a lower risk of civil conflict than military and multi-party authoritarian regimes. The finding is attributed to the high capacity for coercion and co-optation within single-party institutions. Essay II studies whether cross-national variations in the occurrence of civil conflict are due to differences in the quality of government. The essay finds that governments that are not able to carry through such basic governing tasks as protecting property rights and providing public goods, render themselves vulnerable to civil conflict. The focus of Essay III is on patronage politics, meaning that rulers rely on the distribution of private goods to retain the support necessary to stay in power. The statistical results suggest that patronage politics per se increase the risk of conflict. The conflict-inducing effect is mediated by large oil-wealth, however, because the government can use the wealth strategically to buy off opposition. Essay IV argues that patronage politics can also lead to violent conflict between groups. The results from a statistical analysis, based on unique sub-national data on inter-group conflict in Nigeria, are consistent with this argument. Taken together, the findings of this dissertation suggest that both the form and degree of government have a significant influence on the risk of civil conflict.

Public water policy decision making tends to be too complex and dynamic to be described fully by traditional, rational models. Information intended to improve decisions often is rendered ineffective by a failure to understand the process. An alternative, holistic description of how such decisions actually are made is presented here and illustrated with a case study. The role of information in the process is highlighted. Development of a Regional Recharge Plan for Tucson, Arizona is analyzed as the case study. The description of how decisions are made is based on an image of public water policy decision making as 1) a structured, nested network of individuals and groups with connections to their environment through their senses, mediated by their knowledge; and 2) a nonlinear process in which decisions feed back to affect the preferences and intentions of the people involved, the structure of their interactions, and the environment in which they operate. The analytical components of this image are 1) the decision makers, 2) the relevant features of their environment, 3) the structure of their interactions, and 4) the products or outputs of their deliberations. Policy decisions analyzed by these components, in contrast to the traditional analysis, disclose a new set of relationships and suggest a new view of the uses of information. In context of information use, perhaps the most important output of the decision process is a shared interpretation of the policy issue. This interpretation sets the boundaries of the issue and the nature of issue-relevant information. Participants are unlikely to attend to information incompatible with the shared interpretation. Information is effective when used to shape the issue interpretation, fill specific gaps identified as issue-relevant during the process, rationalize choices, and reshape the issue interpretation as the issue environment evolves.

2017 has been described as a decisive year for the Republic of Moldova. Following years of economic and political turmoil, it is more urgent than ever before that crucial reforms are not only adopted, but fully implemented – primarily within justice, media and banking sectors. Using a theory of impartial institutions and two central theories of state intervention into media markets, this counterfactual deductive thesis sets out to investigate arguments for and against a system of state subsidies to private media as a tool to increase Quality of Government in Moldova. Through analyses of qualitative interviews with six country experts within relevant fields as well as secondary data, the conclusion of this single case study is primarily confirming previous research indicating on the one hand, that a more social responsible role of the state within Eastern European media markets is a realistic future path, on the other hand that it can hardly be expected soon. Further, the possibility of media to improve Quality of Government is perceived as low – even with sufficient financial resources – due to lack of other prerequisites such as accessibility, accountability and responsiveness; as well as low scores on crucial indicators such as corruption, law and order and quality of bureaucracy. Just like democratic institutions can be destabilizing under wrong circumstances, state subsidies given to wrong beneficiaries within a media market, could undermine democratic legitimacy and accountability. Both findings of previous research – related to state governance on the one hand and media governance on the other – are perceived as particularly relevant in this study of Moldova. However, there have been promising signs lately on economic structural reforms improving the conditions for civil society and media in Moldova, indicating for reevaluating the potential of state support in the future. Further, I recommend greater emphasis put on the distinction between political and non-political owners when examining the effects of media ownership concentration and its effects on governments and societies at large.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

O bem-estar social depende das decisões tomadas pelos gestores públicos. O direito de voto deve ser exercido com a maior racionalidade possível, de tal forma que o interesse coletivo se sobressaia sobre o privado. Para tanto, a sociedade deve absorver a maior quantidade de informação, propiciando não apenas a fiscalização da administração como também a participação na escolha pública. O Índice de Qualidade do Gasto Público representa um método capaz de auxiliar na tomada de decisão. Reflete o retorno social, em termos de indicadores, das despesas per capita realizadas, permitindo estabelecer uma hierarquia das microrregiões e definir referenciais de qualidade do gasto público. Aplicando o referido método para as microrregiões do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, funções Educação e Cultura, Habitação e Urbanismo e Saúde e Saneamento, observa-se a presença de deseconomias de escala, ou seja, o aumento da despesa não gera um retorno proporcional em termos de indicadores sociais, revelando ineficiência na alocação dos recursos públicos. / Social well-being depends on the decisions taken by government administrators. The right to vote should be exercised with the greatest rationality possible, in such as way that public interest outweighs private interests. In order to do so, society must absorb the greatest amount of information, empowering not only the assessment of administration but also participation in government choice. The Government Spending Quality Index represents a method capable of assisting the decision making process. It reflects social return, in terms of indicators, of per capita executed expenses, allowing a hierarchy of micro-regions to be established and references in quality government spending to be defined. Applying the aforementioned method in the micro-regions of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Education and Culture, Habitation and Urbanism, and Health and Sanitation functions, one notes the presence of diseconomies of scale, that is, the increase in spending does not generate a proportional return in terms of social indicators, revealing inefficiency in the allocation of government recourses.