An Intellectual History of Political Corruption

Princely Patronage and Patriot Cause: Corruption and Public Value Dynamics in the Dutch Republic (1770s–1780s)

“…First, it provides a view on (moral) reform of public administration resulting from widespread patronage and other "corruption" in the Dutch Republic at the time. The term "corruption" is used broadly in this article to denote lack of integrity (for elaborate historical and conceptual analyses, see Buchan & Hill, 2014;Friedrich, 1989;Heidenheimer & Johnston, 2001). It is defined here as "the abuse, according to the legal or social standards constituting a society's system of public order, of a public role or resource for private benefit" (Johnston, 1996, p. 333).…”

“…Likewise, moral decay was usually linked-in a quite classical sense-to corruption or decay of the body politic as a whole, including wider areas of society, such as politics, the economy, and culture (cf. Buchan & Hill, 2014;Stapelbroek, 2010).…”

Urban Governance and Its Disorders: Corruption in the Cities

“…2 Perhaps the most valuable introduction to the historical perspective on corruption now can be found in Bruce Buchan and Lisa Hill, An Intellectual History of Political Corruption. 3 Further, the specifically urban historical dimension of corruption has, until relatively recently, received less attention. Nevertheless, there is value for those interested in governance in an older work which provides insights into governance regimes: William B, Cohen, Urban Government and the Rise of the French City: Five Municipalities in the Nineteenth Century.…”

Impact of Transparency and Corruption on Mega-Event Support

“…Similarly, Cicero stated in his De Officiis that "for to exploit the state for selfish profit is not only immoral; it is criminal, infamous." In classical Greece, public office corruption was a crime severely punishable, especially when it was judged to be contrary to the public interest (Buchan & Hill, 2014).…”

“…However, although the positive relationship between corruption and economic output might be true under certain conditions, it seems unlikely that corruption can help the economy in most cases. In fact, corruption is generally considered as one of the main obstacles to sustainable economic development (OECD, 2014) because it distorts market incentives, inflates the cost of doing business, and harms economic output (Buchan & Hill, 2014). According to the OECD (2016), corruption adds uncertainty to businesses and discourages the entry of foreign players, lowers competition, and technology spill overs.…”