Author(s)

Jay S. Albanese, Kristine Artello

Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.

The level of public corruption cases remains high. Interviews with 72 former investigators, prosecutors, community stakeholders and individuals with first-hand experience in corrupt activities, together with analysis of court documents, offer insight into the motivations behind the corrupt conduct in hundreds of known corruption cases. Corrupt motivations are classified into four categories: positive, classical, structural, and ethical. Empirical examples from interviews and court cases are used to show how the identified causes and correlates of corruption can be grouped and use to develop more effective anti-corruption prevention strategies. Recommendations are offered to reduce the extent of corruption by applying the principles of positive, classical, structural, and ethical explanations of corruption to reduce opportunities for corruption and improve the integrity levels of those in public service.

Corruption, Prevention, Ethics, Bribery, Causes of Corruption

Albanese, J. and Artello, K. (2018) Focusing Anti-Corruption Efforts More Effectively: An Empirical Look at Offender Motivation—Positive, Classical, Structural and Ethical Approaches. Advances in Applied Sociology, 8, 471-485. doi: 10.4236/aasoci.2018.86028.