Vikifzj at 08:42, 17 October 2025

2025-10-17T08:42:19Z

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{{short description|Government favoritism}}
{{Political corruption sidebar}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}

'''Cronyism''' is awarding positions, jobs, contracts, loans, privileges, or advantages to friends or colleagues. It is used especially in politics, when referring to partiality between politicians and businesses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/cronyism|title=cronyism American English definition and synonyms - Macmillan Dictionary}}</ref> A person who supports or partakes in cronyism is referred to as a ''crony'', ''cronie'', or ''cronyist''.

Cronyism occurs when appointing "cronies" to positions of authority regardless of their qualifications.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cronyism?s=t|title=the definition of cronyism|publisher=dictionary.reference.com}}</ref> This is in contrast to a ''[[meritocracy]]'', in which appointments are made based on merit. Politically, "cronyism" is derogatorily used to imply buying and selling favors, such as votes in legislative bodies, doing favors to organizations, or giving desirable ambassadorships to exotic places.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/government_ethics/introduction/cronyism.html|title=Favoritism, Cronyism, and Nepotism|first1=Judy|last1=Nadler|first2=Miriam|last2=Schulman|publisher=Santa Clara University|access-date=20 June 2013}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The word ''crony'' first appeared in 17th-century London, according to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''; it is believed to be derived from the [[Greek language|Greek]] word {{lang|grc|χρόνιος}} ({{transliteration|grc|chronios}}), meaning {{gloss|long term}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/crony?view=uk|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120718210536/http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/crony?view=uk|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 July 2012|title=Oxford Dictionaries - Dictionary, Thesaurus, & Grammar|access-date=2 July 2015}}</ref>

== Concept ==
{{see also | Clientelism | Nepotism | Political corruption }}
Government officials are particularly susceptible to accusations of cronyism, as they spend [[tax]]payers' money. Many democratic governments are encouraged to practice administrative [[transparency (humanities)|transparency]] in [[accounting]] and contracting, but there often is no clear delineation of when an appointment to government office is "cronyism".<ref name= ced>{{cite web| url= https://www.ced.org/cronycapitalism | website= CED.com| publisher= Committee for Economic Development | title= Crony Capitalism: Unhealthy Relations Between Business and Government| date= | accessdate=}}</ref>

In the private sector, cronyism exists in organizations, often termed "[[Old boy network|the old boys' club]]" or "the golden circle"; again, the boundary between cronyism and "networking" is difficult to delineate.<ref name="Staff 2010">{{cite web| url=https://thefreemarketeers.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/do-old-boys-clubs-make-the-market-more-efficient/|title=Do Old Boys' Clubs Make The Market More Efficient?|author=Staff|year=2010|publisher=The Free Marketeers|access-date=26 April 2012}}</ref>

Cronyism describes relationships existing among mutual acquaintances in private organizations where business, business information, and social interaction are exchanged among influential personnel. This is termed [[crony capitalism]],<ref name= ced /> and is an ethical breach of the principles of the [[market economy]]; in advanced economies, crony capitalism is a breach of market regulations.

The economic and social costs of cronyism are paid by society. Those costs are in the form of reduced business opportunity for the majority of the population, reduced competition in the marketplace, inflated consumer goods prices, decreased economic performance, inefficient business investment cycles, reduced motivation in affected organizations, and the diminution of economically productive activity.<ref name="Staff 2010"/>

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
*[[Cartel]]
*[[Cronies of Ferdinand Marcos]]
*[[Crony capitalism]]
*[[Crony-capitalism index]]
*[[In-group favoritism]]
*[[Interest group]]
*[[Nepotism]]
}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite journal | doi=10.1007/s10490-009-9137-4 |title = Networks and cronyism: A social exchange analysis|journal = Asia Pacific Journal of Management|volume = 27|issue = 2|pages = 281–297|year = 2010|last1 = Begley|first1 = Thomas M.|last2 = Khatri|first2 = Naresh|last3 = Tsang|first3 = Eric W. K.|s2cid = 143799762}}
* {{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ykSDtAEACAAJ |title = Cronies: Oil, the Bushes, and the Rise of Texas, America's Superstate|isbn = 9781586481889|last1 = Bryce|first1 = Robert|date = 2004|publisher=PublicAffairs|lccn=2003070694|author-link=Robert Bryce (writer)}}
* {{Cite journal |jstor = 3875215|title = Cronyism: A Cross-Cultural Analysis|journal = Journal of International Business Studies|volume = 37|issue = 1|pages = 61–75|last1 = Khatri|first1 = Naresh|last2 = Tsang|first2 = Eric W. K.|last3 = Begley|first3 = Thomas M.|year = 2006|doi = 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400171|s2cid = 18930227|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5223184}}<br/>[Also in T. G. Andrews and R. Mead (Eds.), Cross Cultural Management, Volume 2 -The Impact of Culture 1: 126–150. Routledge, UK.]
* {{Cite journal | doi=10.5465/ambpp.2003.13792813 | title=Cronyism: The Downside of Social Networking| journal=Academy of Management Proceedings| volume=2003| pages=C1–C6| year=2003| last1=Khatri| first1=Naresh| last2=Tsang| first2=Eric W. K.| last3=Begley| first3=Thomas M.|doi-access=free}}
* {{Cite journal |doi=10.1023/A:1023081629529|year=2003|last1=Khatri|first1=Naresh|journal=Journal of Business Ethics|volume=43|issue=4|pages=289–303|last2=Tsang|first2=Eric W. K.|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226026426|title=Antecedents and Consequences of Cronyism in Organizations|s2cid=142479179}}
* {{Cite journal | doi=10.1080/00220388.2020.1849622 | journal=Journal of Development Studies| volume=57| pages=1373–1396| year=2021| last1=Diwan| first1=Ishac| last2=Haidar| first2=Jamal Ibrahim|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00220388.2020.1849622|title=Political Connections Reduce Job Creation: Firm-level Evidence from Lebanon| issue=8| s2cid=229717871| url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Hudson |first1=Sarah |last2=Claasen |first2=Cyrlene |title=Nepotism and Cronyism as a Cultural Phenomenon? |journal=The Handbook of Business and Corruption |date=2017 |pages=95–118 |doi=10.1108/978-1-78635-445-720161006|isbn=978-1-78635-446-4 }}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary}}
* "[https://www.scu.edu/government-ethics/resources/what-is-government-ethics/favoritism-cronyism-and-nepotism/ Favoritism, Cronyism, and Nepotism]". Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, [[Santa Clara University]].
* [http://www.current.tv/pods/supernews/PD00567 SuperNews: Hurricane Katrina] - A political flash cartoon about the cronyism surrounding [[Michael D. Brown]] and [[Hurricane Katrina]].

{{Corruption}}
{{Discrimination}}

[[Category:Corruption]]
[[Category:Political terminology of the United States]]
[[Category:Oligarchy]]
[[Category:Nepotism]]
[[Category:Public choice theory]]
[[Category:Group processes]]
[[Category:Politics of India]]

Cronyism - Revision history

Vikifzj at 08:42, 17 October 2025