Call for Papers on 'Four Fridays of Corruption'

This mini-series of online workshops aims to bring together researchers from different disciplines to improve our theoretical, empirical and methodological understanding of different aspects of corruption, rent-seeking behaviours, and informal practices within different institutional contexts.

The mini-series is organised by the Institute for International Management (Loughborough University London), Centre for Political Economy and Institutional Studies (Birkbeck University of London) and Centre for Comparative Studies of Emerging Economies (UCL SSEES).

As part of the workshop series, the organisers are launching a call for papers looking for work that sheds light on corruption and other forms of rent-seeking behaviours within different institutional and socio-cultural contexts from a broad and interdisciplinary perspective.The workshop also aims to explore different aspects of informality, the complementarities existing between informal practices and different forms of institutions, and the relational mechanisms linking informal practices and corruption.

The organisers welcome contributions from different academic disciplines (including, but not limited to, political science, economics, development studies, law, sociology, social psychology, and organisational studies), using different level of analysis (individuals, firms and organisations, sectors, regions, countries, etc.) and different methodologies and techniques (theoretical, empirical, qualitative, quantitative, comparative, etc.).

The organisers welcome submissions from any relevant discipline addressing issues including (but not limited to):

• Corruption and institutional quality/context
• Determinants and/or consequences of corruption
• Citizens’ attitudes towards rent-seeking behaviour
• Informal practices, formal and informal institutions
• Informal practices and corruption
• Informal networks, social norms, and corruption
• Trust, corruption, and institutions
• Corruption, tax evasion, and tax morale
• Definitions and concepts of corruption
• Compliance and the rule of Law

Structured abstracts should adopt the following structure:

• Research Type: Conceptual, Theoretical, Empirical or Review.
• Research Question/Issue: 2-3 sentences presenting the focus of the paper.
• Method: 2-3 sentences clarifying the methodological approach chosen, and data source, if the paper is conceptual/theoretical, please state the main framework your research builds on.
• Key Findings/Insights: 2-3 sentences explaining the findings or insights derived from your study. This section should highlight the contribution of your work to the broader literature.
• Implications: In this section, please state the broader implications of your findings for researchers and/or policy-makers, as appropriate.

Please note that the format of the submission (structured abstract of full paper) will not affect the chances of being accepted. Researchers submitting structured abstracts will not be treated less favourably than authors submitting full papers. Please also indicate on your abstract the time zone you will be residing in during November 2020 and what your preferred time for the session would be - the organisers will try to accommodate timing requests where possible for the series in November.

Submissions should be sent to Dr Gerhard Schnyder, Director of the Institute for International Management by 7 September 2020. The submission should be sent with “Four Fridays for Corruption” included in the subject line. Authors of accepted submissions will be notified by 28 September 2020.

To find out more about the Corruption, Rent-Seeking Behaviour and Informal Practices in Institutional Contexts Workshop Series, please visit the workshop webpage.