Bland mutor och monopol: Marknadsreformer och korruption i det statliga Systembolaget

Abstract

State, Monopoly and Bribery. Market Reforms and Corruption in a Swedish State- owned Enterprise
Many studies of corruption claim that it is state size and its bureaucratic apparatus that promote corruption. While some studies, on the contrary, suggest that it is the more recent New Public Management reforms that create opportunity for corrupt exchanges, very few studies have investigated this systematically and empirically. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine the relationship between market reforms and the conditions for corruption, using a qualitative case study of cor- rupt relations in the Swedish state-owned monopoly for selling alcoholic beverages (‘Systembolaget’). The analysis shows that the market reforms increased the discre- tion of managers in the state-owned company, established new informal relations between managers and privately owned companies as well as increased demand for corrupt services among the companies. In contrast to earlier studies, the study pro- vides a better understanding of the complex interplay of different organizational processes resulting from market reforms that may promote corruption.