To understand the use of personal connections to get things done, 13 situations were focused upon in which the illicit circumvention of rules and norms most commonly happens, according to the research studies on this phenomenon around the world (see Onoshchenko & Williams, 2013). Each was separately discussed with the respondents in order to see if they have relied on personal connections in any of them, why they decided to bypass standard procedures in such situations, as well as to understand who provided the favour and how they compensated the person who helped them.
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The following situations were discussed: medical services (skipping queue, getting better examination, surgery); solving problems with the law enforcement authorities (traffic police, customs); finding a job; education (places in higher education/obtaining degree/diploma, etc.); legal services and courts; everyday services at better quality or better price (bank services, hairdressers, etc.); repairs (housing, garages, car); tickets for events (theatre, concerts); hobbies and entertainment (resorts, travelling tickets); consumer goods (excluding foodstuffs); communicating with local authorities in one’s business matters (e.g. delaying tax payment); foodstuffs; and speeding up bureaucratic procedures (e.g. at the municipal hall). It should be also mentioned that every respondent was also allowed to add any other situations in which they achieved advantage in such a manner, but which were not on the list.
In total, 30.8% of the participants admitted to having asked someone a favour in at least one of these spheres. Table 8 shows that Croatians most often circumvent procedures related to medical services, with 17% of participants admitting to have used personal connections in order to skip the queue, get better medical examinations or shorten the waiting time for surgery at least once during the prior 12-month period.
Yes No Refusal/D
K Have you in the last twelve months asked anyone for a favour/help using connections in any of the following spheres?
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Table 8 Pulling strings in various spheres of public life in Croatia, % of surveyed
individuals
Source: Authors’ own calculations based on the representative survey of 2,000 individuals in Croatia
The second most frequent situation in which Croatians used pulling strings to get things was for various repairs. This is not surprising having in mind that exactly this area of activity was also recognised as being highly prone to undeclared work. Some 12% of Croatians use informal methods even to search for people that would conduct repair services for their houses/apartments, cars and/or electronic advices.
The results presented in Table 8 further reveal that a non-negligible part of population circumvents rules when searching for employment for themselves or members of their family. Some 9.1% of the surveyed individuals admitted to have asked people to assist them in getting a job. This is followed by reliance on personal connections to get everyday services at better quality or better price, reported by 6.2% of the respondents. All other spheres seem not to be particularly prone to this type of misconduct. For instance, only 4% of citizens solve problems with the law
Medical services: skipping queue, getting better examination, surgery 17.0 81.4 1.6 Solving problems with the law enforcing authorities: traffic police, customs 4.0 94.7 1.3
Finding a job 9.1 89.1 1.8
Education: places in higher education/ obtaining degree/diploma etc. 1.9 96.7 1.4
Legal services and courts 2.8 95.7 1.5
Everyday services at better quality or better price (bank services, hairdressers…) 6.2 92.3 1.5
Repairs (housing, garages, car) 12.0 86.7 1.3
Tickets for events, theatre, concerts 4.3 94.4 1.3 Hobbies and entertainment, resorts, travelling tickets 3.6 95.1 1.3
Consumer goods excl. foodstuffs 3.5 95.2 1.3
Communicating with local authorities in your business matters (e.g. delaying tax
payment) 2.7 96.0 1.3
Foodstuffs 4.5 94.2 1.3
Speeding up bureaucratic procedures (e.g. at the municipal hall) 4.3 94.4 1.3
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enforcement authorities in this way, while only 2.8% of them apply this method to circumvent procedures related to legal services and courts. Yet, this does not mean that these fields are not prone to dishonest behaviour, as the practice of pulling strings is just one type of illegitimate conduct related to public affairs. Other related practices, such as corruption, however, were not evaluated by the survey.
For each situation for which they admitted to circumventing the rules, the respondents were asked to identify the reason for such behaviour. Figure 28 presents the findings, illustrating the proportion of people mentioning each rationale at least once (i.e. for at least one of the offered domains). The findings reveal that dissatisfaction with the time they have to wait to get a product or service is by far the most frequent reason for Croatians to pull strings. Four out of ten respondents mentioned this for at least one of the spheres of public life in which they relied on help from people. This is followed by endeavours to reduce the final price, which was identified by 29.1% of the survey participants as the key motivation to disobey rules and norms.
Figure 28 Most frequent reasons to use personal connections in Croatia, % of individuals who admitted pulling strings
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Source: Authors’ own calculations based on the representative survey of 2,000 individuals in Croatia
The lack of information was the main reason to ask a favour for 22.4% of the identified violators, while 19.5% of them did so in order to improve quality of the good or service in question. Interestingly, one in ten people complained that at least once they were forced to pull strings simply because the existing rules and laws were not enforced in practice. In other words, those people argued that otherwise they would not have got the service they were entitled to. Finally, there is also a non- negligible proportion of individuals using this practice simply to maintain social contact with people (7.7%), which therefore indicates a considerable level of embeddedness of this practice in Croatian culture.
To further understand pulling strings, for each of the areas in which they admitted reliance of personal connections, the respondents were also asked the following question: 40.2 29.1 22.4 19.5 17.2 14.4 10.7 7.7 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
To receive services without queuing To reduce the final price To get information To improve quality To circumvent rules/laws/bureaucracy To be introduced to useful people To make rules/ laws work To maintain connections
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The list of potential providers of the favour was offered to every participant, but possible responses were not limited solely to this list. As Figure 29 reveals, friends are most frequently asked for favours. Almost six out of ten survey participants asking for a favour to have things done did so from their friends.
Figure 29 The overview of people who helped/did a favour, % of individuals who
admitted pulling strings
Source: Authors’ own calculations based on the representative survey of 2,000 individuals in Croatia
The second most important source of help was relatives, cited by 30% of the respondents circumventing rules and procedures. Neighbours provided assistance to 18.4%, while colleagues did so for 13.1%. Every fourth person asking for a favour had at least one experience in which they did not use a close social tie (e.g., friends of friends, acquaintances). 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Friend Relative Other people Neighbour Colleague
59.3
29.1
25.1 18.4
13.1
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For each identified case of the use of personal connections, the respondents were asked the following question:
In this case, a definite list of four possible outcomes was given. The potential compensations included: gift; cash; a favour for a favour (quid pro quo); and verbal gratitude only (i.e. just ‘thank you’). Figure 30 reports the results. Over two-thirds (68.2%) of instances involved merely verbal gratitude expressed to the provider of the favour/help. In 24.3% of situations a favour was offered in return. Yet, although they are not as often as one would expect, transactions including material gain for the accomplice are far from being exceptions in Croatia. One in five people relying on assistance to circumvent rules/laws/procedures repaid their gratitude with a gift and one if five gave money to the provider.
Figure 30 The overview of given compensations, % of individuals who admitted
pulling strings 21.6 21.3 24.3 68.2 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Cash Gift Quid pro quo Just "Thank you"
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Source: Authors’ own calculations based on the representative survey of 2,000 individuals in Croatia