The impacts of education and institutional trust on citizens’ willingness to report corruption: lessons from Papua New Guinea

Educated citizens are often considered more likely to report corruption; this belief shapes anti-corruption campaigns. However, we know little about how other factors may interact with education’s impact on willingness to report corruption. This article examines data from a household survey undertaken in Papua New Guinea. We find considerable support for the notion that education encourages a greater willingness to report various types of corruption to officials. While our results indicate that this is especially the case when respondents believe that corruption would be addressed by the government, they also show that secondary and post-secondary levels of education can have a positive impact even among those who do not have much faith in reporting institutions. However, the results also suggest that academics and policy-makers should be sensitive to the way trust in the state impacts educated citizens’ willingness to report different kinds of corruption.