The untold story of nepotism in government

The Myth of Meritocracy in the Halls of Power

Every election night we hear the same comforting refrain: “We elected the best people for the job.” It’s a mantra that lets us sleep at night while the very people we voted into office fill their cabinets, agencies, and state-owned enterprises with siblings, cousins, and longtime friends. The illusion of meritocracy is a story sold by lobbyists, think‑tanks, and the media elite to keep the public complacent.

• The data don’t lie. A 2020 World Bank impact evaluation of Lithuanian municipal administrations found that nepotism raised operating costs by an average of 7 % per year, a direct drag on taxpayers (Gelbs, Knight, & Sabot, 2020).
• The pattern repeats globally. In Sri Lanka, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed three brothers to head the ministries of finance, defence, and foreign affairs, turning the entire executive branch into a family enterprise (Wikipedia, 2024).
• The legal veneer is thin. Even where nepotism is illegal—most OECD countries have statutes banning the practice in the civil service—surveys show that 30 % of senior officials admit to hiring relatives in the past five years (Meyer‑Sahling et al., 2018, cited by World Bank).

If merit truly ruled, why would a dozen of the world’s richest nations still wrestle with the same nepotistic rot? The answer is simple: **the system is designed to protect the bloodlines that fund it.

Bloodlines Over Brains: The Costliest Scandal Nobody Talks About

When the press uncovers a bribery scandal, the headlines scream. When a president’s son lands a cushy diplomatic post, the coverage is a polite “appointment.” The disparity is intentional. Nepotism is the quiet, chronic crime that erodes public budgets faster than any single fraud case.

• Public‑sector inefficiency. Studies linking nepotism to higher public‑sector costs cite a 2014 analysis by Jaimovich and Rud that found a 5‑10 % productivity loss in departments with high familial hiring (Jaimovich & Rud, 2014).
• Economic drag. Wu and Lin (2012) estimate that every 1 % increase in nepotistic hiring correlates with a 0.3 % reduction in regional GDP growth, because qualified talent is sidelined and projects stall.
• Taxpayer burden. The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported in 2021 that nepotistic hiring practices in three federal agencies cost an estimated $1.2 billion in overtime and contract overruns over five years (GAO, 2021).

These numbers are not abstract; they translate into higher taxes, crumbling infrastructure, and fewer resources for schools and hospitals. Yet the story is never told because the beneficiaries control the narrative.

Bullet list of hidden costs:

• Wasted talent – qualified applicants bypassed for family members.
• Inflated contracts – relatives often award contracts to friends, inflating prices by 12‑15 %.
• Morale collapse – employees who see nepotism thrive disengage, reducing overall productivity.

When the public finally realizes that nepotism is a massive fiscal leak, the outrage is palpable. Until then, the elite keep the books balanced on a foundation of blood ties.

The Hidden Ledger: Taxpayers Pay for Family Favors

Consider the municipal budgets of Lithuania’s 60‑plus local governments studied in the 2020 World Bank paper. The researchers built a “nepotism index” using public employment records, family name matching, and nepotistic appointment disclosures. Municipalities in the top quintile of the index spent €15 million more per year on average than those in the bottom quintile, despite having similar population sizes and economic bases.

That same pattern appears in the United States. A 2022 analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics found that state‑level nepotism (defined as hiring a relative within the same agency) increased the average per‑capita cost of government services by $45 in the states with the highest rates—an amount that directly squeezes the median household budget.

Three stark facts that expose the ledger:

• Public contracts awarded to relatives’ firms are on average 13 % higher than comparable competitive bids (Transparency International, 2023).
• Salary inflation is common: relatives often receive salaries 20‑30 % above the market rate for similar positions (OECD Public Governance Review, 2021).
• Audit avoidance is built into the system: many jurisdictions exempt “family hires” from standard performance audits, creating blind spots for oversight bodies (World Bank, 2018).

When you add these hidden costs across a nation, you’re looking at hundreds of billions of dollars siphoned from the public purse—money that could fund renewable energy, education, or health care. The silence around these figures is a testament to how powerful the entrenched families are at shaping the data we see.

Falsehoods They Want You to Believe

The propaganda machine works overtime to downplay nepotism. Here are the most common myths and why they crumble under scrutiny.

“It’s just a cultural tradition, not corruption.”
Reality: Cultural arguments are used to legitimize patronage, but empirical research shows nepotism reduces institutional performance regardless of cultural context (Meyer‑Sahling et al., 2018). The “culture” excuse ignores the measurable economic damage.

“All appointments are merit‑based; families just happen to be qualified.”
Falsehood: In the Rajapaksa administration, three brothers with no public‑policy experience simultaneously ran finance, defence, and foreign affairs (Wikipedia, 2024). Their qualifications were demonstrably lacking, yet they held the most powerful ministries.

“The law prohibits nepotism, so it can’t be a problem.”
Debunked: Even where statutes exist, enforcement is weak. The GAO (2021) found that 70 % of federal agencies lacked clear procedures for recusing relatives, allowing the practice to persist unchecked.

“Only left‑wing parties practice nepotism; right‑wing leaders are clean.”
Unverified claim: This partisan narrative ignores evidence that nepotism is a cross‑party phenomenon. For instance, both Democratic and Republican administrations in the U.S. have faced nepotism scandals, from the Clintons’ State Department hires to the Trump administration’s appointment of family members to advisory roles (multiple reputable news investigations, 2022‑2023).

Each of these falsehoods persists because they protect the status quo. By repeating them, media outlets and political operatives keep the public from asking the uncomfortable question: **who really benefits when family members get the jobs?

Why This Should Make You Furious

Because the stakes are personal. Nepotism isn’t a distant academic debate; it’s the reason your child’s school is under‑funded, your neighborhood road is full of potholes, and your health insurance premiums are climbing. It is the silent engine that fuels inequality, because the same families that control government jobs also control the private sector pipelines that funnel contracts to their own businesses.

• Inequality: When high‑pay government jobs are hoarded by a few families, the wage gap widens. A 2021 OECD report linked nepotistic hiring to a 2‑point increase in the Gini coefficient across member states.
• Democratic erosion: If voters see that their votes only change the faces on the ballot, not the faces in the bureaucracy, political disengagement spikes. Voter turnout in municipalities with high nepotism scores fell by 12 % between 2015 and 2020 (World Bank, 2020).
• Policy capture: Family‑linked officials shape regulations that favor their private interests—think tax breaks for family‑owned enterprises or relaxed environmental standards for relatives’ factories.

The anger is justified. The system is rigged not by a single scandal but by a pervasive, institutionalized practice that the mainstream narrative refuses to name.

What you can do—concrete steps:

• Demand transparency audits for all senior appointments.
• Support legislation that requires public disclosure of familial relationships within agencies.
• Vote with accountability: prioritize candidates who commit to zero‑tolerance nepotism policies and have a track record of enforcing them.

The next time a politician boasts about “bringing family values to government,” ask yourself: **whose values are they protecting?

Sources

• “Nepotism, Political Competition and Overemployment” – World Bank Impact Evaluation (2020)
• Wikipedia – Nepotism (Mahinda Rajapaksa section)
• Family First, State Last: Bureaucratic Nepotism in a Modern State – World Bank Blog (2018)
• U.S. Government Accountability Office – Federal Employee Nepotism Policies (2021)
• Transparency International – Corruption Perceptions Index (2023)
• OECD Public Governance Review – Nepotism and Public Sector Performance (2021)