The silence of corrup tion: identi fy ing under re port ing of busi ness corrup tion through random ised response tech niques

The rela tion ship between corrup tion, polit ics and busi ness activ ity has long been a contentious area of research. 1 Corruption can impose a tax on busi ness, which is not only costly to indi vidu als and fi rms but can be arbit rary and unpre dict able. It can affect the incent ives of fi rms and investors, increas ing rent-seeking activ ity. Yet, corrup tion can also increase economic effi ciency where it greases the wheels of busi ness, either as collu sion between public offi cials and fi rms or simply as a mech an ism that increases the effi ciency of busi ness by using informal mech an isms to over come formal barri ers to economic activ it ies.