Corruption as a Last Resort

Using evidence from her long-term research in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Kelly M. McMann traces the situations that drive individuals to illicitly seek employment and loans from government officials.

Kelly M. McMann is Associate Professor of Political Science at Case Western Reserve University.

This innovative theory invests in a new 'corruption from below' perspective—that considers ordinarypeople instead of elites—offering new argumentations that criticise a mere/immediate ‘market’ concept.... McMann has produced a fundamental book that will surely contribute to the research in anti-corruption studies creating a consistent basis for further research.

Leslie Holmes:

The work is overall a most welcome addition to the literature on corruption in post-communist states, while its underlying and original focus on corruptors rather than corrupt officials provides important new perspectives on corruption in general.

Michael Johnston, Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science, Colgate University, author of Syndromes of Corruption:

The cases in Corruption as a Last Resort are interesting and important, and Kelly M. McMann knows them well. McMann's use of field data is first rate. Her notion that market reforms can increase corruption is interesting and important and will catch some policymakers by surprise.

Eric McGlinchey, George Mason University, author of Chaos, Violence, Dynasty: Politics and Islam in Central Asia:

Most studies of corruption focus on large-scale rent-seeking behavior of political elites. Corruption as a Last Resort, in refreshing contrast, focuses on citizens' incentives for engaging—or not engaging—in corruption so as to secure scarce resources. Kelly M. McMann provides helpful insights into painful and partial market reforms in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and the absence of economic reforms in Uzbekistan.