What are the causes of corruption?

Abstract
The paper provides insight into the existing phenomenon of corruption and the causes of corruption,
facing the world from times immemorial. In the beginning, the paper opens with a brief introduction of
the concept of corruption, its derivation and usage. Gradually, the paper provides with brevity the
historical background for understanding the existence of corruption in the past times till to date.
Precisely, it states that corruption is a timeless phenomenon that has received widespread attention in
the affairs of the world just recently. Using this as the proverbial measuring stick, the paper then seeks
to justify the causes of corruption that give way to the increased concern over the issue of corruption
around the world. Several factors lead to the practice of corruption in the world namely lack of
transparency and accountability, ineffective institutional controls, unstable democratic and political
systems, unfair wages and salaries, restricted press and media, inefficient penal system and so on. In the
end, the paper concludes with a comprehensive overview of the entire topic proposing solutions to
combat the menace of corruption.
Keywords: Corruption; Historical Background; Widespread Concern; Causes of Corruption.

1. Introduction

Corruption has been in existence in all societies around the world, from times immemorial. However,
the resulting impact of corruption has raised the concerns to consider and combat the ills of corruption
seriously from the last two decades. The word corruption has been derived from a Latin word
‘corruptus’ meaning ‘corrupted’. Legally speaking, the word refers to the abuse of a trusted position or
power intentionally to acquire material benefits, in any branch of the state (i.e. executive, legislative and
judicial) or in political or other organizations. Corruption exists in many various shapes and forms, thus
it has impact on every significant sphere of the society, be it social, economical, ethical, or financial.
Multiple factors contribute towards the existence of corruption including the form of political system,
rules and regulations, socio-cultural determinants, lack of transparency and accountability etc. All these
factors inhibit the economic growth leading to devastating business operations, investments and
employments. Not only this, corruption also results in reduced tax revenue and lack of efficient financial
assistance projects. In addition, the public at large suffers from increased levels of mistrust in the areas
of rule of law, quality of life and standard of education.
Although corruption is a widespread phenomenon, yet it is a commonplace in under-developed and/or
low-income countries. The only argument that satisfies the commonplace occurrence of such high
levels of corruption in under-developed countries is the fact that the conditions and circumstances are
more favorable towards the growth of corruption. For this reason, where corruption yields large
benefits with little chances of getting caught or afflicts nominal penalties, more people give-in to
corruption. Therefore, under-developed and/or low income countries are more prone to enhanced risks
of corruption than developed and/or high income countries. Besides, lack of effective governance, rule
of law, accountability, ethics, civil liberties and the like also contribute to such countries being more
corrupt than others.
Moreover, with the increasing concern over the issue of corruption, no compact answer or framework
has been chalked out to deal with the issue. A solution that helps to curb the menace of corruption in one
country does not fit for other countries. A comprehensive analysis has to be conducted to find out a
practical strategy to put an end to this menace, in the world at large.

2. Historical Background

The history of corruption can be traced from the beginning of the formulation of laws in the states and
considered as a menace that causes adverse impacts on the functioning of political and public
administrations. Archeologists have found records of corruption in the form of plates written in
cuneiform style during the period of Assyrian civilization in the thirteen century. The Romans regarded
corruption as a criminal offence and defined it as giving, receiving or claiming benefits in order to
influence an official in connection with his work. The offence of corruption was thus subscribed with
compensation in double value of the damage caused, the loss of political rights for the offender, or even
death sentence (during the times of early feudalism). Nevertheless, the infliction of penalty did not help
reduce corruption basically due to the commission of corruption by people in positions of high ranks and
authority, including members of the Senate and state officials. Corruption was also banished by the
Christian faith in early times, but it prevailed in times to come and achieved its peak in the Middle Ages
as more and more people became accustomed to the act of corruption, until the time it was condemned
by Martin Luther. Not only this, corruption was a commonplace during the times of the Spanish
Inquisition, where the victim of the accusation could make amends with money, which made the
corruption.
Many learned philosophers and intellectuals (like D. Kaufmann and CW Gray) have proposed varying
opinions about the phenomenon of corruption, throughout the history. One of the great intellectuals –
Machiavelli - considered the republics with a relatively low opinion, as he regarded them more corrupt
than any other regimes. According to him, corruption results in moral degradation, bad faith and bad
education. While on the other hand, one of the great philosopher, diplomat and lawyer - Sir Francis
Bacon - was well-known both for receiving bribes and taking them. When Sir Francis reached the
supreme judicial position in England, he was found guilty of corruption in more or equal to 28 cases.
Although corruption has been in existence since times immemorial, it has only received more attention
recently after 1995, when the countries and international institutions began to be aware of the increasing
magnitude of the issue. Several institutions, for instance - the World Bank Institute (WBI), the European
Commission, the United Nations, the EBRD - have investigated corruption and its impact on
macroeconomic and microeconomic indicators, as well as its connection with local customs and habits,
and how it affects the everyday lives of people. Most studies are therefore mainly the analyses of the
effects of corruption on various economic indicators, such as GDP growth, investments, employment,
tax revenues and foreign investments, or the study of various forms of corruption in relation to politics
and the economic environment, the research of its social condition and various manifestations.
Moreover, prior to 1995, the public reaction towards corruption was neutral. But with the enhanced
attention given to corruption via print and e-media, public has become more active and reactive towards
curbing the menace of corruption, as well.
3. Causes of Corruption

In recent times, increasing concern and attention is being paid towards corruption, its consequences and
solutions to put an end to corruption. The high surge in corruption is due to three major factors. (1) The
fact that corruption is universal, and exists everywhere in the world. It exists in all countries, both
developed and developing, in the public and private sectors, as well as in non-profit and charitable
organizations. (2) The issues of allegations and charges related to corruption play a more pivotal in role
in politics nowadays than at other times. Several governments and public figures have faced down-fall,
and loss of reputation in public, impacting heavily on the country’s economy and businesses. (3) The
most significant of all is the fact that corruption is regarded as a major obstacle in the way of economic
development of a country, consequently halting the process of a country’s efforts towards
modernization. The developing nations have become increasingly concerned about corruption due to the
adverse impacts on economy and development processes. Therefore, the countries and institutions now
feel the need to put corruption on high priority list and methods to root out this evil from the face of the
world.
3.1. Rules and Authorizations
The role of state is usually carried out by the rules and regulations enforced in the state, especially in
developing countries. Therefore in order to carry out certain activities in a state, certain permits,
licenses, or authorizations are needed to pursue such activities in a legal manner. For example opening
a shop, borrowing money, investing, driving a car, owning a car, building a house, engaging in foreign
trade, obtaining foreign exchange, getting a passport, going abroad and so on require certain
authorizations or documents. For that purpose, authorizations must be sought from several government
offices or contacts must be made with public servants.
These rule and regulations gives a sort of monopoly power to the government officials who must
authorize or inspect the activities of the public. These powers may corrupt such officials who may
either refuse or simply delay the decisions of authorizations for months in order to extract bribes from
those in need of authorizations. An example can be seen in the expression ‘license raj’ used in India,
that referred to the individual who sold permits to allow people to engage in various forms of economic
activities. Not only this, many individuals act as facilitators or middlemen to help ordinary people in
obtaining such authorizations at a nominal commission in some countries. The culture of bribe is
further augmented due to the fact that in certain cases the rules and regulations are either non-
transparent or publicly inaccessible and therefore, such authorizations can only be obtained from a
specific office or individual - that is, there is no facility of a middlemen – thus, providing the
bureaucrats with ample opportunity and power to extract bribes.
Moreover, these rules and regulations demand frequent contact of citizens with the bureaucrats in their
surge to seek permits or authorizations and results in spending ample amount of time in bureaucrats’
offices. Surveys have been collected from different countries concluding that large proportions of time
have been spent in seeking the permits by the managers of businesses and enterprises, which if
employed in business activities would prove beneficial for economic development of the nation. The
only solution to cut short such a waste of times is through the payment of bribes. If only such
bureaucrats or government officials work in the better interest of their country’s overall economic
development, the outcome would be different – that is a better country with a minimal corruption rate.
3.2. Governmental Size and Activities
There exist two different opinions with regard to the relationship of corruption and the size of
government. One perspective is that a larger government leads to more corrupt politicians by increasing
the economic benefits from illegal acts (mainly corruption). The other perspective believes that a large
government is more effective in fighting corruption because of a bigger budget for law enforcement.
This is supported by the fact that countries with a high share of governmental expenditures usually rank
lower in corruption indices. According to researchers, the role of democracy is of essence in this
context. They find proof that in countries with high democracy levels, an increase in government size
can decrease the level of corruption, while it will do the opposite, if democracy is weak. These results
can be explained by the monitoring of government officials. In countries with functioning democratic
institutions, politicians are monitored by the media and by free election, causing them to abstain from
corrupt behavior. If these institutions are weak, a higher level of government involvement will cause the
opposite, since there are more opportunities for e.g. bribes and few sanctions.
Moreover, it is pointed out that it is not only the size of the government, but also the type of government
activity that determines the level of corruption. For instance, restricting the competition by trade
restrictions will lead to higher economic benefits and thus higher and possibly more illegal economic
benefits seeking activity like corruption. Besides, if the taxes imposed by the government are based on
clear laws and do not require contacts between taxpayers and tax inspectors, such governmental activity
are much less likely to lead to acts of corruption. However, when the laws are difficult to understand and
can be interpreted differently so that taxpayers need assistance in complying with them; the payment of
taxes requires frequent contacts between taxpayers and tax administrators; the wages of the tax
administrators are low; acts of corruption on the part of the tax administrators are ignored, not easily
discovered, or when discovered are penalized only mildly; the administrative procedures (for example,
the criteria for the selection of taxpayers for audits) lack transparency and are not closely monitored
within the tax or customs administrations; tax administrators have discretion over important decisions,
such as those related to the provision of tax incentives, determination of tax liabilities, selection of
audits, litigations, and so on; and more broadly, when the controls from the state (the principal) on the
agents charged with carrying out its functions are weak, then corruption is likely to be a major problem
in tax and customs administrations. Therefore, a need to formulate clear and express laws related to
taxation must be made to avoid the misuse of such laws.

3.3. Decisions on Public Expenditure

The act of corruption is not immune to the decisions made by the government in relation to public
expenditure. The provision of goods at below market prices by the government is not corruption free.
Investment projects have lent themselves to frequent acts of high level corruption. Because of the
discretion that some high level public officials have over decisions regarding public investment
projects, this type of public expenditure can become much distorted, both in size and in composition,
by corruption. Public projects have, at times, been carried out specifically to provide opportunities to
some individuals or some political groups to get ‘commissions’ from those who are chosen to execute
the projects. This has reduced the productivity of this expenditure and has resulted in projects which
would not have been justified on objective criteria of investment selection such as cost-benefit
analysis.

Procurement spending, i.e., the purchase of goods and services on the part of the government, is
another area affected by corruption. To reduce corruption possibilities, some countries have
developed complex and costly procedures that may have reduced corruption at the cost of sharply
increasing the prices at which some goods are purchased. Extra-budgetary accounts are common in
many countries. Some of them have legitimacy and are set up for specific purposes (pension funds,
road funds, etc). Others are set up to reduce the political and administrative controls that are more
likely to accompany spending that goes through the budget. In some countries, the money received
from foreign aid or from the sale of natural resources such as oil, tin, etc. is channeled towards special
accounts that tend to be less transparent and less controlled than the money channeled through the
budget. Some of this money may go into illegitimate uses or pockets. In all these areas, lack of
transparency and ineffective institutional controls are the main factors leading to corruption.

3.4. Size of population

The size of the population also seems to have an impact on corruption. Many researchers have found a
positive trend that is with an increase in the population by one million; there possibility of being asked
for a bribe increases by 0.01 percentages. In larger countries, politicians have more resources and use
them to extract maximum benefits in order to stay in power by paying bribes to the concerned
authorities. However, as the small countries have fewer means to employ capable and honest officials,
they suffer more from corruption. While at first glance, it seems like larger population size leads to
higher corruption and thus decentralization is favorable in the fight against it, the empirical results on
population size do not draw clear implications.

3.5. Democracy and the Political System

Democracy and political system are very important in predicting corruption levels. This becomes even
clearer when looking at the correlation between the level of voice and accountability and control of
corruption in countries. These findings are supported by previous researches that democracy only lowers
corruption after it has been established for a long period of time. In a very young democracy, corruption
rises at first and declines after a certain point, which is between four and fifteen years. New democracies
do not yet have the means to control this activity, making economic benefits more attractive at first. But
when democracy becomes more stable, free market-entry becomes easier and this leads to more
competition for seeking economic benefits and thus lowering such economic benefits per individual. In
addition, institutions to monitor and fight these activities improve over time, increasing the costs of
seeking such benefits. Facing these two developments, such economic piling-up loses its grip and goes
down.
Other interesting researches focus on the relation of corruption with the political system of a country.
According to them, the system of proportional representation (PR) suffers more from corruption
compared to plurality systems, because it is harder for voters and opposition to monitor the incumbent
politicians. The effect becomes even more severe, when PR systems are combined with Presidentialism,
which they attribute to fundamental properties like fixed-terms in office. To conclude, there is evidence
that democracy reduces corruption, but only if the institutions are evolved and fully functional. Simply
transforming an authoritarian regime into a half-hearted democracy will not suffice in the fight against
corruption. A need for stable and mature democratic institutions is sought after.
3.6. Lack of Transparency and Accountability
The conduct of economic and business affairs requires observance of certain rules and regulations for
activities to proceed in an orderly fashion. Rules and regulations are required to maintain a sense of
fair play; to prevent disastrous conflicts; keep greed in check; minimize socially undesirable
consequences; and generally to ensure that players and referees abide by certain accepted standards of
moral conduct and good behavior. Naturally, for rules to be properly observed, they must be
transparent, that is, must be set out clearly and made known in advance to all concerned, so that they
can be understood and obeyed by participants in the game. Aside from being clear, rules must also
be applied in an impartial manner with respect to all the key players and must be consistent and not
be subject to frequent and arbitrary changes. Corruption also generates a lack of transparency and a
lack of control by supervisory institutions. Therefore, where there is insufficient legal basis or political
will to control, corruption flourishes resulting in a non-transparent functioning of both politics and the
economy. Corruption is also affected by the extensive, non-transparent or incomplete legislation, where
laws can be interpreted in many different ways (for the benefit of the one who pays).
In many countries, the lack of transparency in rules, laws, and processes creates a fertile ground for
corruption. Rules are often confusing, the Statutes specifying them are not publicly available, and at
times, the rules are changed without properly publicized announcements. Laws or regulations are
written in a way that only trained lawyers can understand and are often conceptually and linguistically
opaque about important aspects thus leaving grounds for different interpretations. Processes or
procedures on policy matters and other actions, as for example for competitions for public projects, are
equally opaque so that, at times it is difficult to understand the process that was followed before a
decision was reached. The matter of accountability is necessary while considering the corruption
question as it occupies an important place in this scenario. Accountability has to do with the fact that
for proper observance of rules and regulations, those administering the rules must be held responsible
and accountable for their actions. Due to the greater lack of existing responsible authorities and
immature political institutions, accountability is withheld which gives-in to corruption in many
countries around the world. A call for accountability institutions is needed to deal with corruption in
times to come, which shall see the issue in a transparent code of conduct.

3.7. Professional Ethics and Legislation

Lack of professional ethics and deficient laws regulating corruption as a criminal offense, and the
prosecution and sanctioning of it are also an important cause for the emergence and spread of
corruption. A great influence comes also from the ineffective sanctioning of corruption, which only
increases the possibility of continuing the corruptive actions of those involved, creating at the same time
a strong likelihood that others will join in the corruption due to this inefficient sanctioning. The sole lack
of professional ethics is a particular issue, as the administration requires different amounts of time to
develop or change its ethics and professional standards, which is well known in developing countries (in
some, ethics and professional standards changed overnight and approached the equivalents in the
developed democracies, and in some, they remained the same as in socialism). It is precisely in the
developing countries that the ‘softer’ acts of corruption are often considered to be acceptable and
justifiable. Therefore, due to lack of professional ethics in some countries that otherwise manage illegal
corruption well, there is nevertheless a widespread form of legal corruption.

3.8. Misuse of Discretionary Powers

Discretionary powers represent another key concept in discussing corruption. They arise because it is
not possible to devise rules and regulations that are watertight and foolproof and will take care of all
contingencies that may come up in trying to control or direct an economic activity. Hence, some
flexibility and discretionary powers will have to be given to administrators in interpreting and
implementing rules. These decisions could prove decisive in determining the final outcome of the
game. As already witnessed, the phenomenon of corruption is strongly influenced by the political and
economic environment. The more is the economic activity in the country regulated and limited, the
higher the authority and the power of officials in decision making and the greater the possibility of
corruption, since individuals are willing to pay or offer payment in order to avoid restrictions. A great
potential for corruption is especially there where the officials are under the regulation given the
opportunity to decide on the basis of discretion.

3.9. Quality of Institutions

The other important ingredient is the probability that those who commit crimes would be caught, which
leads to the role of institutional controls. The existence of these controls reflects to a large extent the
attitude of the political body towards this problem. Generally, the most effective controls are those that
exist inside institutions. This is really the first line of defense. Honest and effective supervisors, good
auditing offices, and clear rules on ethical behavior should be able to discourage or discover corrupt
activities. Good and transparent procedures should make it easier for these offices to exercise their
controls. Supervisors should be able to monitor the activities of their subordinates. These characteristics
vary from country to country. In some these checks are almost non-existent so that corruption is mostly
discovered by chance or through the reporting by outsiders, including the media.

Several countries, including Pakistan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Uganda, Argentina and others have
created anti-corruption commissions or offices expressly charged with the responsibility of following
reports on corruption. To be effective these offices must have independence from the political
establishment, ample resources, and personnel of the highest integrity. They must also have the power to
enforce penalties, along with other organs of the state including the judiciary. Unfortunately, in some
countries these offices are required to report confidentially to the president or the prime minister of the
country rather than to the legislative body. This goes a long way towards reducing their effectiveness
and politicizing the process. In other countries, these commissions do not have the power to impose
penalties and their reports may not have any following by other institutions.

3.10. The Extent of Competition

The existence of competition has also to do with the corruption rate. The more competition in business
or any other activity there is, the harder is it to hide corrupt payments, because competitors might
uncover the corrupt activities and therefore the risk of being detected is higher than in a monopoly
market. Furthermore a higher involvement in the international trade puts more pressure on a country’s
government to grant good conditions for foreign companies and to fight corruption.

3.11. Penalty System

In the real world relatively few people are punished for acts of corruption, in spite of the extent of the
phenomenon. Furthermore, with the exception of a few countries, there seems to be a wide gap between
the penalties specified in the laws and regulations and the penalties that are effectively imposed.
Generally, effective penalties tend to be more lenient than the statutory ones. The administrative
procedures followed before a public employee is punished for acts of corruption are slow and
cumbersome. Often legal, political, or administrative impediments prevent the full or quick application
of the penalties. Due process and the need to provide incontrovertible evidence are major hurdles. The
potential accusers are often reluctant to come forward and to spend the time and effort to go through the
full process required to punish someone. Also, when corruption is widespread, the costs to the accusers
in terms of social capital, such as lost friends, can be high. Furthermore, the judges who will impose the
penalties may themselves be accessible to corruption or may have political biases, so that they may be
bought by the accused or may put obstacles to the proceedings. All these factors limit the role that
penalties actually play in many countries, especially when corruption is partly politically motivated.
This attitude brings toleration for small acts of corruption that can in time encourage bigger acts. Such
acts must be discouraged in efforts to bring corruption to a minimal level around the globe.

3.12. Recruitment and Salaries

In investigating the causes of corruption, salaries of public officials also play an important role.
According to the model developed by Becker and Stigler in 1974, higher wages correspond with less
corruption due to the costs of malfeasance. Higher wages might seem fairer to the bureaucrats, making it
morally harder for them to hurt their employer, the government, by accepting bribes. If a bureaucrat
decides to accept bribes and gets detected, he will lose his tenure and will have to switch to the private
sector. The higher the wages in the public sector compared to the private sector, the higher the expected
loss from losing the job and the lower the incentives to engage in corrupt activity, provided that there is
a sufficiently high level of monitoring.

Although corruption can occur at a variety of levels, attention has usually been directed at only two -
namely, the high and the low - and these are believed to reinforce each other. High level corruption
refers to misconduct at the top and by leading politicians. Since these people are generally well-off and
have a lot of privileges associated with their high office, their corrupt behavior is not attributable to
low pay and out of necessity to meet the living expenses of their families. Instead, greed is considered
a main motivating factor. At the other end, low level corruption - such as the under hand payment that
has to be made to a clerk to expedite the issue of a driving license - has its own set of problems. In
this case the general perception is that civil servants with insufficient salaries to meet the living
expenses of their families are driven by necessity to engage in corrupt practices. Raising their pay, it
is argued, will mean less need to depend on illegal activities to earn a living while they have more to
lose if they get caught.

3.13. Press Freedom and the Judiciary

A free press is often considered one of the most important traits of a non-corrupt society. As
Transparency International states that an independent media is ‘a vital pillar of national integrity and
good governance’. The reason for this is straightforward: A high quality and uncensored press sheds
light on misuse of power and makes it more difficult to engage in it undetected. Some scholars point out,
that the effect might be overstated since press freedom is only one facet of countries with high quality
institutions and wealth and might not itself affect corruption. They also refer to claims that the media
cannot be considered beneficial in general since newspapers might report false information in order to
increase the sales. Also journalist may be involved in corruption themselves leading to false or omitted
information. Not only the detection of corrupt behavior functions as a deterrent, the threat of punishment
is just as important. A high quality judiciary holds the government accountable for any illegal action
including corruption. If the law enforced is constant and predictable, it influences the decision to engage
in corrupt behavior negatively. This has been investigated and is supported by empirical research,
including an analysis of 59 industrial and developed countries conducted by the World Bank in 1997.

3.14. Cultural Determinants

Corruption is also regulated by various cultural determinants that are if a country or society is prone to
corruption, it will follow the suit in future as well. But if a society has culture of trust and reliance on
one another, the corruption indices would be different. For that purpose, several studies have addressed
the relationship between trust and corruption and find that countries which score high on the level of
trust have lower corruption. This is explained by the fact that trust facilitates and encourages cooperation
between all members of society, improving the governments and the economy’s quality and in turn
reducing corruption.
3.15. Percentage of Women in the Labor Force
Several behavioral experiments have addressed gender differences in trustworthiness and selfishness and
a lot of them do find that women are more trustworthy and that their reciprocal behavior in experimental
trust games is higher. If these results are transferable to real life settings such as politics, countries with a
high share of women in the labor force and in parliament might suffer less from opportunistic behavior
at public expenses. According to the World Values Survey, it is shown that women engage less in
corruption than men. If the women’s share of seats in the parliament increases by about 8 percent, the
corruption index increases by about one fifth of a standard deviation. Even though female representation
in government corresponds to lower levels of corruption, the effect is not significant anymore according
to some researchers. They propose that it is not the women lowering corruption, but liberal democracy
structures and ideology leading to fairer and more honest behavior and also supporting women
participation in the labor force and parliament. However, in societies where women are less able to
participate in the social life, corruption is higher. The results remain significant even after controlling
various factors such as democracy and political and economic participation of women. This leads to the
conclusion that reforms which aim at increasing the number of women in the public and private sector
are not sufficient to fight corruption. It is rather the social institutions that deprive women from
participation that influences the functioning of a society and in that turn influence the level of
corruption.
3.16. Endowment of Natural Recourses
The last but not the least, cause of corruption to be discussed is the allocation and employment of natural
resources in country. In theory, abundance of natural resources should have a positive effect on
development, since it encourages trade and investment and in turn living standards. Yet there is also
another perspective, often called the ‘resource-curse’, which means that in the presence of resource
abundance, governments become less efficient, since citizens and officials compete for economic
benefits and invest less in other forms of capital, such as human capital, thus, giving way to corruption.
In resource-rich countries, benefit seeking activities encourage corrupt behavior. If the democratic
institutions are strong however, and officials can be held accountable for malfeasance, this trend can be
counteracted. In countries that have an abundance of natural resources, democratization can therefore
help to reduce corruption.

4. Conclusion

A useful conclusion that has emerged from the present research and ongoing debate on the corruption
issue is that corruption is a symptom of deep-seated and fundamental economic, political and
institutional weaknesses and shortcomings in a country. To be effective, measures against corruption
must therefore address these underlying causes and not the symptoms. Emphasis must thus be placed
on preventing corruption by tackling the root causes that give rise to it through undertaking economic,
political and institutional reforms. Anti-corruption enforcement measures such as oversight bodies, a
strengthened police force and more efficient law courts will not be effective in the absence of a
serious effort to address the fundamental causes.
Another observation that may be useful to bear in mind is that corruption is most prevalent where
there are other forms of institutional weaknesses, such as political instability, bureaucratic red tape,
and weak legislative and judicial systems. The important point is that corruption and such
institutional weaknesses are linked together and that they feed upon each other. For example, red
tape makes corruption possible and corrupt officials may increase the extent of red tape so that they
can get more bribes. So, getting rid of corruption helps a country to overcome other institutional
weaknesses, just as reducing other institutional weaknesses helps to curb corruption.
In the end, it can be said that undertaking reforms (both economic and political) by reducing
institutional weaknesses offers the best hope to overcome corruption. Corruption will not disappear
because of reforms. But reforms will bring it under control and minimize its adverse consequences so
that the country can proceed with its efforts to become a modern, developed nation with a good
chance of attaining that goal.

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