The Effectiveness of Anti-Corruption Reforms in a Region of Europe: The Role of Social Empowerment

Abstract

Speaker: Jesus Palomo - King Juan Carlos University, Madrid This research aims to ascertain whether a prevention of corruption policy that aligns with international consensus on corruption deterrence, developed at a critical juncture and employing a big bang approach, is an effective way to reduce corruption. Stemming from the strategy implemented since 2015 in the Region of Valencia in Spain, a case of good practice according to the European Union, we formulate two hypotheses and, to test them, two surveys and web scraping tools were employed. A structural equation model is postulated to analyse the hypothesised causal relationships among the various components of the corruption phenomenon. Furthermore, both the design and conclusions were subjected to evaluation by six key stakeholders through a semi-structured structured interview script with open-ended questions to ensure consistency. The findings suggest that leveraging critical junctures with a holistic and disruptive prevention of corruption policy can have a long-term impact, provided it generates social empowerment supported by an effective control of the corruption system. Consequently, as the demand for integrity increases, the effectiveness of the control system improves, leading to increased institutional trust and a reduction in corruption perception. These findings provide valuable theoretical and practical insights that can guide the development of effective anti-corruption strategies in analogous contexts.