Quantitative research on citizens' attitudes and behaviours towards corruption often tends to consider a view of this phenomenon that could, in some sense, be considered simplified in relation to its reality in public policy and public administration. Consequently, the general public typically condemns corruption based uniquely on ethical or cultural broad arguments. 

However, the reality of public policy and administration consistently reveals a trade-off between the ability to control or prevent corruption and the efficiency, or even effectiveness, in implementing public policies and in the functioning of administrative processes. Crisis management is a decision-making context in which this trade-off becomes especially relevant due to the need to quickly respond to unforeseen and novel situations. 

This study aims to analyse from the general public's point of view this trade-off between corruption prevention and an effective and efficient public response in times of crisis, a challenge frequently faced by policymakers. The general objective of this approach is to promote the reflection on the complexities of corruption risks and public integrity policies, making them more useful for public decision-making especially in the difficult moments of crisis management. 

The present study is based on the statistical analysis of the "Corruption and Ethics in Spain" survey conducted within the framework of the research project “EPOCA. Corruption and Economic Crisis" (N=1.506), which explores the tolerance of Spanish society to higher corruption risks in the context of managing the Covid-19 crisis. 

The preliminary results suggest that the perception of unfairness in rent distribution, interpersonal trust, distrust in certain public institutions, and a higher perception of general corruption are related to greater tolerance of corruption during a crisis. This study will try to analyse in-depth these citizens' attitudes to better understand some of the nuances around corruption tolerance.