THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORRUPTION, SHADOW ECONOMY AND HAPPINESS. SURVEY ON ROMANIA

Abstract

In this paper we address the relationship between happiness and acts of corruption and shadow economy in Romania. From our survey conducted on a sample of 101 respondents from Romania (on March 2020), we find that Romanian people do not link happiness to material issues in particular, but rather they see it as a consequence of having families, professional and spiritual fulfillment, while money and property are last in this ranking. The average income that would make the respondents happy is on average of 5,223 lei (about 1,100 Euro) per month, an amount that they consider necessary to cover the basic needs that influence their development. Our findings reveal that the most corruption practices encountered in the public institutions refer to receiving money and gifts for services to which people are entitled followed by receiving money and gifts to favor someone. However, corruption and shadow economy are not perceived as being very relevant in fully influencing the level of happiness they perceive.