Changing Ethics Policies Without Scandal: State Responses to Published Reports and the Importance of Accurate Information. (2nd July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rauh, William Jonathan
• Is Part Of: Public integrity. Volume 18:Number 3(2016)
• Page Start: 308
• Page End: 335
• Publication Date: 2016-07-02
• Subjects: corruption risks -- ethics policies -- measurement -- state integrity investigation; Civil service ethics -- United States -- Periodicals; Public administration -- Moral and ethical aspects -- United States -- Periodicals; Political ethics -- United States -- Periodicals; Civil service ethics -- Periodicals; Public administration -- Moral and ethical aspects -- Periodicals; Political ethics -- Periodicals; Civil service ethics; Political ethics; Public administration -- Moral and ethical aspects; United States; PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION; CIVIL SERVICE; MORAL ASPECTS; POLITICAL ETHICS; Periodicals; 172
• DOI: 10.1080/10999922.2016.1139530
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1099-9922

Abstract

Abstract : This article details how states responded to the State Integrity Investigation—a large-scale study that sought to rank states based on their risk of corruption. Although some states responded with policy changes, the article demonstrates that responses were not due to how well the states performed compared to other states. Rather, their ranks on the survey magnified the effect of prior information on the state's ethics policies. Additionally, it goes on to show flaws in the ranking methods used in the State Integrity Investigation and demonstrates that these ranks likely created inconsistent responses from states with regard to changing ethics policies.