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Document Details :

Title: Global Essay Mills Survey
Subtitle: Is Student Cheating Related to the National Economy?
Author(s): KRÁLÍKOVÁ, Veronika , VAJDÍKOVÁ, Romana , FOLTÝNEK, Tomáš
Journal: Ethical Perspectives
Volume: 26    Issue: 1   Date: 2019   
Pages: 91-118
DOI: 10.2143/EP.26.1.3286290

Abstract :
The Global Essay Mills Survey (GEMS) is an international project focused on dishonest behaviour among university students. This behaviour and student cheating are becoming more and more frequent in the academic environment. Some authors are even talking about an epidemic. There are many kinds of cheating, which differs in many ways – using crib sheets, copying, using unauthorised aids, and so on. They can have some impact on students, or maybe universities, but some types of conduct can be much more severe (e.g. buying essays), because they may influence the country’s economy. Here the question arises: Is students cheating related to the national economy? This contribution compares percentages of student cheating in six countries in three continents (Australia, Czech Republic, Chile, Romania, Serbia, and Sweden) and links them to selected macroeconomic indicators. The percentages of confessed cheaters were obtained from the GEMS survey, and they were processed in GRETL software together with available data of economic indicators of selected countries. There are significant differences between these six countries from the cultural, economic, legal and educational point of view, thus providing a sufficient basis for comparison. Based on the anonymous responses from GEMS, it was found that the percentage of cheating respondents is positively correlated to the unemployment rate and overall corruption, and negatively correlated to GDP per capita and minimum wage.

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