Implementing systems of integrity to curb corruption in the Chilean central government

Abstract

Governments have deployed different strategies for controlling corruption and to reinforce the ethical frameworks of public employees. Traditionally, a normative or “obedience” approach has been adopted, which highlights the importance of regulations to avoid unethical behaviors. The Chilean government, after an important corruption crisis, decided to implement a different approach, where the objective is to address this problem by an integrity approach centered on the values of public service. The purpose of this paper is to study how this strategy has unfolded, through a quantitative and qualitative analysis, which allows us to present different models of implementation of integrity systems. The article fi­ nalizes with ideas and thoughts that could be useful, both for Chile and Latin America, for a better implementation of strategies for curving corruption.