Working Paper

Serie Documentos Cede, 2022-41

Perceiving Bad Apples Versus Rotten Trees: Evidence From the Exposure of Politician Misbehavior in Colombia

Published on 1 October 2022

This paper studies the effects of disclosing information about politician misbehaviour on trust in public institutions. I use news bulletins from the main anti-corruption agency in Colombia announcing disciplinary prosecutions against municipal mayors. I exploit the timing of the bulletin’s publication as a source of variation on the information about the mayor’s misbehaviour.

Using a difference-in-difference framework, I find that news of the prosecution led to increased trust in judicial institutions. However, the effects on confidence in the political system depend on whether citizens perceive the prosecuted mayor as an individual transgressor or as representative of political institutions that are persistently led by questionable individuals. In the former case, the bulletin’s publication increased support for the political system. In the latter, it diminished trust in the elections, political parties and Congress. These findings highlight the sophistication of citizens’ judgements in response to information on institutional performance.

Cite this publication

Mendoza Mora, L. (2022) Perceiving Bad Apples Versus Rotten Trees: Evidence From the Exposure of Politician Misbehavior in Colombia, Serie Documentos Cede, 2022-41, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE

Authors

Juan Carlos Muñoz-Mora

Post Doctoral Researcher

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Partners

In partnership with
Universidad de Los Andes
Supported by
ESRC

Publication details

published by
Universidad de Los Andes
authors
Mendoza Mora, Lucía
journal
Serie Documentos Cede, volume 41
issn
1657-7191
language
English

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Region
Colombia

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