Today’s guest post is from Fabrizio Di Mascio, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Turin.

Much of the discussion of the corruption problem focuses on developing countries. This focus is understandable, given that corruption is a much more pervasive, or at the very least more visible, in the developing world. Indeed, some have suggested that corruption will tend to disappear as countries become wealthier and as democratic institutions are consolidated. Yet while it may well be that (crude) corruption tends to decline as countries develop, the evidence suggests that corruption remains widespread in developed countries, including mature democracies. To better understand both the characteristics of corruption in the developed world, and the mechanisms that might help combat that corruption, the open-access academic journal Politics & Governance recently published a special issue (which I co-edited) on “Fighting Corruption in the Developed World: Dimensions, Patterns, Remedies.”

After an introductory editorial, the special issue includes eight articles, all of which are available for download for free:

• Simona Piattoni & Matteo Fabio Nels Giglioli, Do Changing Electoral Systems Affect the Space for (Corrupt) Particularism? Evidence from the Italian Case
• Monika Bauhr & Nicholas Charron, Why Do Men and Women Perceive Corruption Differently? Explaining Gender Differences in Perception of Need and Greed Corruption
• Michael Breen & Robert Gillanders, Press Freedom and Corruption Perceptions: Is There a Reputational Premium?
• Fabrizio De Francesco & Philipp Trein, Enhancing Transparency and Tackling Corruption: The Adoption of Lobbyist Register as a Standard among Developed Countries
• Eliska Drápalová & Fabrizio Di Mascio, Islands of Good Government: Explaining Successful Corruption Control in Two Spanish Cities
• Fernanda Odilla, Oversee & Punish: Understanding the Fight Against Corruption Involving Government Workers in the Federal Executive Branch in Brazil
• Johanna Gisladottir, Sigurbjörg Sigurgeirsdottir, Ingrid Stjernquist & Kristin Vala Ragnarsdottir, Corruption Risks in Renewable Resource Governance: Case studies in Iceland and Romania
• Mihály Fazekas & Johannes Wachs, Corruption and the Network Structure of Public Contracting Markets Across Government Change