Is corruption detrimental to society? An empirical investigation of corruption’s effect on subjective well-being in Europe

Abstract: Corruption has been a widely discussed and analysed topic for decades. However, the results stemming from research on its effect are mixed and highly volatile, leading to a debate that it may be beneficial to the economy and society. The thesis puts this to a test with a focus on Europe during 2005-2019. By using rigorous testing, different proxies for corruption and subjective well-being, and various econometric techniques, evidence arguing against corruption's positive effect on society's subjective well-being is found, yet it depends on chosen regression's functional form and proxy for corruption.