Spatial Spillover Effects of Corruption Controls: Focusing on the Public Sector in Vietnam

ABSTRACTThis study contributes to the literature on corruption by exploring the impact of corruption controls in one region on corruption in other regions within a country, known as the spatial spillover effect. Specifically, using spatial econometric models and a panel dataset from all 63 provinces in Vietnam during the 2011–2023 period, the study finds that the spatial spillover effect of corruption controls on corruption can function through three main channels: (1) Corruption controls directly impact corruption within a province, subsequently affecting corruption in neighbouring provinces through the spatial spillover effect of corruption; (2) corruption control practices directly affect corruption in neighbouring provinces; and (3) corruption control practices in the given province affect corruption control practices in neighbouring provinces, changing corruption there. However, this effect is primarily generated by the adjacent provinces and dramatically diminishes corresponding to the increase in distance between provinces. The results also suggest that the effect of current corruption control efforts is more potent than the past efforts. These findings offer valuable information to policymakers enacting anticorruption initiatives.