The Atlantic

Corruption Corrupts

A psychological study spanning 23 countries links tax evasion and political fraud to individual truth-stretching.
Source: Ruben Sprich / Reuters

Updated on October 10, 2018

In February 2014, the European Union published its first ever anti-corruption report. Over 41 pages, it concluded that bribery, tax evasion, cronyism, embezzlement, political fraud, and the like, cost the European economy 120 billion euros a year, just short of the EU’s annual budget. Corruption costs, clearly, but it deprives citizens of more than money. It’s also tied to a shortfall in honesty.

, Simon Gächter and Jonathan Schulz from the University of Nottingham asked volunteers from 23 countries to play the same simple game. The duo” says Gächter. “

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