Corruption factor through the prism of social-demographic aspects: political and economic context

Abstract

Objective: to determine the impact of socio-demographic factors and characteristics of political and economic changes on corruption.Methods: the work uses the methods of comparative analysis, construction of conjugation tables, and the index method; the information base is the public opinion monitoring data in Vologda oblast, with 1,500 respondents filling in questionnaires at their place of residence. The sample is random and quota; representativeness is ensured by the proportions observed between the residents of settlements of different types, gender and age structure of the population; sampling error does not exceed 3 %.Results: manifestations of corruption have been the subject matter of scientific discourse for quite a long time, but the research approaches have been constantly expanding from the historical, legal, and economic points of view. The article considers corruption as a multidimensional phenomenon and analyzes it from the perspective of an integrative approach, which implies taking into account territorial aspects, socio-demographic factors, and the citizens’ perception of the political and economic situation in the country and in the region. The analysis of the assessment results of the public opinion about the corruption level in the region showed that the authorities and the health care system are the most susceptible to corruption. The assessment of the territorial prevalence of corruption showed that the corruption index values along the “center – periphery” line are higher in the regional center than in the districts. It was also revealed that differences in the socio-demographic characteristics insignificantly influence the perception of changes in the corruption level, unlike the perception of corruption depending on the economic and political situation in the region.Scientific novelty: Based on the analysis of the results of the corruption level monitoring in the region, it is shown that positive assessments of the political and economic situation are associated with an unchanged or decreased level of corruption perception. Hence, good and very good assessments of the economic situation were more often associated with a decrease in the corruption level last year.Practical significance: the identified links between corruption, socio-demographic, political and economic factors can serve as a basis for adjusting and improving anti-corruption policy at the regional and state level.