Featuring
Aart Kraay
Lead Economist
Macroeconomics and Growth Team
Development Research Group
The World Bank
At this MADS, Aart Kraay will present his paper on a new method to increase the accuracy of surveys designed to estimate the extent of corruption. Current estimates of the extent of corruption rely largely on self-reporting by individuals, business managers, and government officials. Yet survey respondents are reluctant to tell the truth regarding activities with social and legal stigmas, resulting in a downward bias in survey-based estimates of rates of corruption. However, by determining the prevalence of reticent behavior in respondents answering sensitive questions, it is possible to estimate the actual rates of corruption. Using the results from this method, Kraay and his co-authors compare the reticence-adjusted estimates of corruption in different regions.
**The Massachusetts Ave. Development Seminar (MADS) is a ten year-old research seminar series that brings some of the worlds leading development scholars to discuss their new research and ideas. The presentations meet an academic standard of quality and are at times technical, but retain a focus on a mixed audience of researchers and policymakers.*
