Corruption in Italy, requests decreasing to families with money or other things in exchange for benefits, goods or services. This is what emerges from the latest one Istat survey (2022-2023) which finds one decrease from 2.7% to 1.3% of requests received from families in the three-year period preceding the interview compared to the 2015-2016 edition; the most significant drops concern the work, public offices, health and justice sectors.
Over their lifetime it is estimated that the 5.4% of families have received requests for money, favors, gifts or other things in exchange for benefits, goods or services; the most frequent requests in the Center (6.8%), less so in the Islands (3.6%). The share of those who know people who have had experience of corruption also decreases: from 13.1% (2015-2016) to 8.3% (2022-2023).
The objective is to estimate the number of families involved in corruption dynamics: people between 18 and 80 years of age are asked, in fact, whether they or a cohabiting family member has been suggested or asked to pay, give gifts or favors in exchange for facilities to obtain a service or benefit. Attention is paid to direct experiences and is explored with dedicated questions as to whether there have been exchanges, of what extent, with what methods and what outcomes, in addition to any reporting of the episode. Indirect knowledge of corruption cases is also detected: one is asked whether similar events have happened in one’s environment to friends, colleagues and family. All these situations are explored in 8 key sectors: health, assistance, education, work, public offices, justice, law enforcement, public utilities.
Among the families who turned to the healthcare during their lifetime (21 million 950 thousand), 1.3% (around 295 thousand) had requests for money, gifts or other things to obtain or speed up the service or to receive assistance. In the workplace this happened to 0.8% of families (around 179 thousand); to be supported in the education sector to 0.7% of families (around 164 thousand), while a lower percentage concerns the field of public utilities: the share of families who, at the time of requesting connections, transfers or repairs for electricity, gas, water or telephone, had requests for payments in any form is equal to 0.4% (approximately 87 thousand) to obtain or speed up services. Instead, 2% (around 427 thousand families) had requests for money or gifts turning to public offices. In the justice sector 4.8% of families (about 175 thousand out of 3 million 643 thousand) had a request of money, gifts or favors from a judge, a prosecutor, a court clerk, a lawyer, a witness or others. For welfare benefits, in the case of requests for contributions, subsidies, social or popular housing, disability pensions, the request for money, favors or gifts involved 2.7% of families (62 thousand out of approximately 2 million 335 thousand). While it is 0.4% of families That, contacting the police throughout life, he had more or less explicit requests of money, gifts or other things to get facilities, get what they needed or to have an eye on them (around 16 thousand out of 4 million 426 thousand).
In most cases of corruption there was a explicit request by the interested party (31.5%, approximately 94 thousand families) or he made it clear (33.0%); follows the request by an intermediary (22.6%). In other cases, families report that there was no real request since “we know it works like that” (8.1%), while in a residual 2.1% it was the citizen who offered on his own initiative money or gifts. Money is the most frequent type of request (66.4%), followed by the exchange of a favor (9.4%) and a gift in 8.9% of cases (15.2% in the South). Residual: preferential treatment (1.8%) and sexual service (1.6%). Finally, 4.8% of families were asked for other goods.
Beyond 1 million 166 thousand citizens (2.7% of the population between 18 and 80 years old) they received money, favors or gifts to cast their vote in administrative, political or European elections; this share was 3.7% in 2015-2016. The exchange vote is more frequent in the case of local elections (1.9% of citizens in 2022-2023) and less for political and European elections (0.9%). The highest peaks are in the South (4.2%) and in the Center (3.6%), although it is precisely the South that reports a strong decrease (from 6.7% to 4.2%).
Among the regions in which, among those interviewed, there are more cases of corruption suffered or of which they have become aware, Lazio emerges (10.4%) followed by Basilicata with 7.1% and the Campania with 6.6%.
