The work also stresses the importance that reforming anti-corruption institutions and policies in countries

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the future work and abstract and future-work section of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 1975 and 2025, spanning 3 journals. Those papers have been cited 480 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 3 representative gaps

• Research theme mapping and future directions on corruption and religion: a bibliometric analysis (2025) · Frontiers in Sociology · cited 2× · doi

  From a legal perspective, corruption refers to the abuse of power or position to obtain personal gain or group interests. Abundant legal studies have explored the root causes of corruption, including weak legal systems, law enforcement, and lack of transparency in regulations (Gutterman, 2023; Søreide, 2016). The literary discussion has been centred around the effectiveness of the legal system in handling corruption cases, along with the challenges and weaknesses that may arise during the eradication efforts. The economic perspective, on the other hand, views corruption as a factor that harms resource allocation and hinders economic growth. This view mainly focuses on the impact of corruption on the public and private sectors through evaluations on budget  allocation, investment, and investor confidence. Many studies attempt to measure the direct and indirect economic costs of corruption, which include the fall of market trust and potential long-term investment losses (Aïssaoui and Fabian, 2022; Habibov et al., 2017; Kang et al., 2023; Shi and Pan, 2018). From the sociological perspective, corruption is understood as the result of social and cultural factors (Zaloznaya and Gerber, 2021). This perspective mostly identifies the practises of cultural norms, nepotism practises, and patronage, which can strengthen or undermine anti-corruption systems. Sociology scholars often highlight the effect of corruption on social structures, inequality, and power dynamics in society (Heath et al., 2016; Moya Díaz and Paillama Raimán, 2022). Studies on corruption through the lens of Sociology have revealed how social and cultural factors can contribute to the persistence of corruption at various levels in society. Meanwhile, from a political perspective, corruption is strongly linked to nepotism and patronage practises. This perspective often analyses how policies and decisions can be  influenced by personal relationships and undue loyalties, leading to the granting of privileges and advantages to certain individuals or groups (Jha, 2023; Keegan, 2024; Oluseye, 2024), which can be equated to corrupt practises. Last, the psychological perspective views corruption from individual motivation and ethics. In-depth psychological research shows that psychological factors can drive individuals to engage in corrupt acts, such as the need for personal gain, financial security, or distorted ethical justifications (Abraham et al., 2018; Zaloznaya, 2014). Studies on corruption through the lens of psychological perspective denote the pivotal role of psychological factors within social and economic conditions, which eventually

  generalfuture work
  Keywords: corruption perspective psychological legal economic social factors practises personal cultural power gain systems views allocation
• Un modelo de choques e interrupciones de reforma anticorrupción: Evidencia del caso mexicano. (2020) · Gestión y Política Pública · cited 3× · doi

  The work also stresses the importance that reforming anti-corruption institutions and policies in countries with systemic corruption might have, an understudied subject in the literature —due to the literature’s “structural bent”, that is, an excessive focus on the economic, political-economic, and democratic structures that contribute to the control of corruption.

  generalabstractevidence 5/5
  Keywords: corruption literature economic stresses importance reforming anti institutions policies countries systemic understudied subject structural bent
• The economics of corruption (1975) · Journal of Public Economics · cited 475× · doi

  The paper suggests that future research should examine the case where the firm's penalty upon conviction depends upon the size of the bribe. The analysis highlights the need for further research on the characteristics of firms that will make them likely to be the successful briber. The paper suggests that future research should examine the implications of the analysis for policymakers seeking to reduce corruption.

  generalfuture-work sectionevidence 5/5
  Keywords: paper suggests future research examine case firm penalty

Questions about this gap