How Does Corruption Affect Society

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Corruption is a complex social, political and economic phenomenon that affects all countries. In Colin Nye’s classical and most widely used definition, corruption is a “behaviour which deviates from the formal duties of a public role because of private regarding (personal, close family, private clique) pecuniary or status gains” (Nye 1967). In short, corruption is the misuse of public power for private gain. Currently the most common types of corruption are bribery, nepotism, fraud and embezzlement. It is necessary to make a distinction between administrative and political corruption. Administrative corruption alters the implementation of policies such as getting a license, even if one does not qualify for it. While political corruption influences …show more content…

Firstly, corruption reduces the overall wealth in the country which may lead to the deterrence for the potential investors. Secondly, corruption reduces the amount of money for educational systems, hospitals, county’s infrastructure, police and other institutions which provide services for the citizens. In other words, it hurts the most vulnerable people. Finally, corruption undermines trust in government, which has a negative impact on society. Another aspect to consider is how corruption is measured. According to the Transparency International it is impossible to fully measure the scale of corruption due to its nature. However, the best known tool to measure the corruption is Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). It was first launched in 1995 by nongovernmental organization “Transparency International.” In addition, there is The Global Corruption Barometer which is the only one world-wide public opinion survey on corruption. Furthermore, Bribe Payers Index (BPI) ranks the likelihood of companies from 28 leading economies to win business abroad by paying bribes. In this paper the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) will be