Vetting for Virtue: Democracy’s Challenge in Excluding Criminals from Office

Title: Vetting for Virtue: Democracy’s Challenge in Excluding Criminals from Office (with Sigurd S. Arntzen and Rune J. Sørensen)

Abstract: This paper assesses the effectiveness of democratic systems in barring individuals with criminal backgrounds from political office. Unlike many countries, Norway has no legal restrictions against electing convicts to public office, underscoring the challenges democratic institutions face in vetting candidates. We analyze a comprehensive dataset that includes all local election candidates from 2003 to 2019, combined with detailed administrative records on criminal offenses. Our analysis shows that candidates running for office are less likely to have criminal records than the general population, with elected officials less likely to have criminal backgrounds than their unelected peers, and mayors being the most lawful. Political parties appear to be instrumental in filtering out candidates with criminal pasts from leading positions in elected councils. Voter influence on the exclusion of candidates with criminal histories appears negligible.