The Changing Perceptions of Corruption during the COVID Pandemic in Russia

This paper studies the dynamic changes of corruption perceptions by public buyers and suppliers in Russia during the COVID pandemic. We conduct an online list experiment among the market participants in three waves: before the pandemic spread, during the strict lockdown, and after some stabilization. The paper shows a gap in how the market participants blame their side on corruption in public procurement. It is negligible before the COVID pandemic and significantly enlarges with the progress of the pandemic. We find that buyers’ perception of corruption among buyers is lower when the number of officially published new COVID cases is high. However, suppliers’ perception of corruption among suppliers is significantly higher when the excess deaths are high. These results indicate the changes in how market participants comprehend what interactions are corrupt. Some informal practices of buyers, which were forbidden before the COVID pandemic, are not perceived as abuse anymore. Suppliers, observing these revealed informal practices and becoming more dependent on public demand during the COVID pandemic, believe in the growth of corruption among suppliers.