Executive embezzlement and theft

QoG code: vdem_exembez

Executive embezzlement and theft
Question: How often do members of the executive (the head of state, the head of government, and
cabinet ministers), or their agents, steal, embezzle, or misappropriate public funds or other state resources for personal or family use?

Responses:
0: Constantly. Members of the executive act as though all public resources were their personal
or family property.
1: Often. Members of the executive are responsible stewards of selected public resources but
treat the rest like personal property.
2: About half the time. Members of the executive are about as likely to be responsible stewards
of selected public resources as they are to treat them like personal property.
3: Occasionally. Members of the executive are responsible stewards of most public resources
but treat selected others like personal property.
4: Never, or hardly ever. Members of the executive are almost always responsible stewards of
public resources and keep them separate from personal or family property.

Type of variable
Continuous
Downloaded by QoG on
2025-09-19
Last updated by source
2025-03-04
Details of this variable in our compilation datasets
Dataset No. Countries
Standard cross-section 172
Standard time-series 175
OECD cross-section 32
OECD time-series 32
Dataset Available for years
Standard time-series 1946-2024
OECD time-series 1946-2024

Country coverage

Click here to see the full list of countries
  • Afghanistan
  • Albania
  • Algeria
  • Angola
  • Argentina
  • Armenia
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahrain
  • Bangladesh
  • Barbados
  • Belarus
  • Belgium
  • Benin
  • Bhutan
  • Bolivia
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Botswana
  • Brazil
  • Bulgaria
  • Burkina Faso
  • Burundi
  • Cambodia
  • Cameroon
  • Canada
  • Cape Verde
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • Chile
  • China
  • Colombia
  • Comoros
  • Congo
  • Congo, Democratic Republic
  • Costa Rica
  • Cote d'Ivoire
  • Croatia
  • Cuba
  • Cyprus (1975-)
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Djibouti
  • Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador
  • Egypt
  • El Salvador
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Eritrea
  • Estonia
  • Eswatini (former Swaziland)
  • Ethiopia (1993-)
  • Fiji
  • Finland
  • France (1963-)
  • Gabon
  • Gambia
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Germany, East
  • Ghana
  • Greece
  • Guatemala
  • Guinea
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Guyana
  • Haiti
  • Honduras
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Jamaica
  • Japan
  • Jordan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kenya
  • Korea, North
  • Korea, South
  • Kuwait
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Laos
  • Latvia
  • Lebanon
  • Lesotho
  • Liberia
  • Libya
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Madagascar
  • Malawi
  • Malaysia (1966-)
  • Maldives
  • Mali
  • Malta
  • Mauritania
  • Mauritius
  • Mexico
  • Moldova
  • Mongolia
  • Montenegro
  • Morocco
  • Mozambique
  • Myanmar
  • Namibia
  • Nepal
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Nicaragua
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • North Macedonia
  • Norway
  • Oman
  • Pakistan (1971-)
  • Panama
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Philippines
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Qatar
  • Romania
  • Russia
  • Rwanda
  • Sao Tome and Principe
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Senegal
  • Serbia
  • Seychelles
  • Sierra Leone
  • Singapore
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Solomon Islands
  • Somalia
  • South Africa
  • South Sudan
  • Spain
  • Sri Lanka
  • Sudan (2012-)
  • Suriname
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Syria
  • Taiwan
  • Tajikistan
  • Tanzania
  • Thailand
  • Timor-Leste
  • Togo
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Tunisia
  • Turkey
  • Turkmenistan
  • Uganda
  • Ukraine
  • United Arab Emirates
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • Uruguay
  • Uzbekistan
  • Vanuatu
  • Venezuela
  • Vietnam
  • Yemen
  • Yemen, South
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

Year coverage

This variable has information from 1946 to 2024.