Public corruption for gain in America: The costly consequences of violating public trust

Several empirical analyses have explored corruption in government to determine the factors that contribute to corrupt behavior of elected officials. This study will focus, explore, and enhance the research on the causes of public corruption among elected county commissioners by examining four domains of corruption causality: individual characteristics of elected officials, county government characteristics, county government fiscal performance, and community characteristics. This study will attempt to determine if General Strain Theory can provide a theoretical framework for understanding the causes of public corruption and, to what degree it can predict whether elected county officials will engage in corrupt behavior.