Abstract
While wasta is a phenomenon that is often seen to be engrained in Arab culture, there is no universally accepted definition of wasta that would separate it from related concepts such as corruption, bribery, or nepotism. A working definition is therefore needed. We define wasta as the use of personal networks for the purpose of gaining access to scarce resources like, for example, jobs, building permits, university admissions, and doctor’s appointments. In other words, someone with wasta can access such resources with fewer obstacles than someone without wasta.
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References
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Marktanner, M., Wilson, M. (2016). The Economic Cost of Wasta in the Arab World: An Empirical Approach. In: Ramady, M. (eds) The Political Economy of Wasta: Use and Abuse of Social Capital Networking. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22201-1_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22201-1_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-22200-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-22201-1
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