A political scandal occurs when a government official commits an unethical or illegal act, such as accepting bribes or trading in influence. Often, these activities involve large sums of money and can undermine trust in political figures. These issues have significant effects on voter behavior and political systems. For example, the Gilded Age was plagued by scandals that fueled public distrust of political leaders and institutions. In recent years, scandals have also triggered movements to reduce corruption and improve transparency in government practices.
Despite the widespread concerns about corruption in politics, scholars do not fully understand why some politicians behave dishonestly and others do not. To address this question, the authors develop a model that explains when and why political scandals occur. The key insight is that the transformation of bad behavior into a scandal depends on its exposure, and that this exposition is a choice weighed against political costs and benefits. In particular, as polarization increases between two parties, the incentive for one party to expose misbehavior decreases, as the cost of doing so rises and the benefit of exposing it decreases.
The model incorporates several features of real-world politics, including the possibility of corrupt bargaining between government officials and powerful private interests and the tendency for long-time work in a single position to foster relationships that encourage graft and cronyism (sometimes called “gombeenism” or “parochialism”). It also accounts for other factors that can influence a politician’s ability to avoid or evade scandal, such as legal provisions against bribery and laws that prohibit political campaign contributions from corporations. The model predicts that a serious scandal can have profound effects on the way citizens perceive and interact with their governments, including lowering trust in political leaders and reducing the perceived efficacy of democratic processes.
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