Using Social Norms to Fight Corruption in Local Governments: A Case Study of the School System in Hanoi, Vietnam

This policy brief looks into the role of social norms to fight corruption in the school system in the Cau Giay district in Hanoi. An ongoing research project has conducted multiple ethnographic field studies in schools and included parents, teachers, and other school personnel in the research data. Their experiences and reflections are the core of this brief. The results show the existence of informal transactions to ensure good care and schools results backed up on social norms such as the celebration of national holidays throughout the school year, but also exist on an everyday basis with the practices of home teaching, and the recruitment of new teachers to schools. By applying a socio-legal anti-corruption perspective to the findings, we suggest a list of actions that could be implemented by local school administrators and headmasters to ensure that no child experiences corruption nor the impact of corruption on his/her schooling.