Open for integrity? Ministry-level evidence on the impact of open recruitment on government integrity in South Korea

The integrity of government officials, who serve as agents engaged in policy formulation and interaction with the private sector, is essential for promoting economic and social development. Previous research has relatively overlooked the influence of public personnel systems on government integrity. This study examines the impact of an open recruitment system, which enables the appointment of private sector experts to senior administrative positions within South Korea’s career civil service and meritocracy systems, on public institution integrity. To ascertain causal relationships, two-way fixed effects and instrumental variable estimation methods are employed. However, the results suggest that the impact of the open recruitment system on government integrity lacks statistical conclusiveness.