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Decentralization and Corruption: New Cross-Country Evidence

Author

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  • Maksym Ivanyna

    (Michigan State Univresity, 206 Old Botany Hall, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA)

  • Anwar Shah

    (World Bank, Washington, DC 20433, USA)

Abstract

We attempt to improve the understanding and measurement of decentralization and its relationship with corruption in a worldwide context. This is done by presenting the conceptual underpinnings of such a relationship as well as using more defensible measures of both decentralization in its various dimensions as well as corruption for a sample of 158 countries. It is the first paper that treats various tiers of local governments (below the intermediate order of government) as the unit of comparative analysis. By pursuing rigorous econometric analysis we demonstrate that decentralization, when properly measured to mean moving government closer to people by empowering local governments, is shown to have a significant negative effect on the incidence of corruption regardless of the choice of the estimation procedures or the measures of corruption used. In terms of various dimensions of decentralized local governance, political decentralization matters even when we control for fiscal decentralization. Further voice (political accountability) is empirically shown to be more important in combating corruption than exit options made available though competition among jurisdictions.

Suggested Citation

  • Maksym Ivanyna & Anwar Shah, 2011. "Decentralization and Corruption: New Cross-Country Evidence," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 29(2), pages 344-362, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:29:y:2011:i:2:p:344-362
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    Cited by:

    1. Choudhury, Sanchari, 2015. "Governmental decentralization and corruption revisited: Accounting for potential endogeneity," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 218-222.
    2. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Santiago Lago-Peñas & Agnese Sacchi, 2017. "The Impact Of Fiscal Decentralization: A Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1095-1129, September.
    3. Grävingholt, Jörn & von Haldenwang, Christian, 2016. "The promotion of decentralisation and local governance in fragile contexts," IDOS Discussion Papers 20/2016, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    4. Ivanyna, Maksym & Shah, Anwar, 2014. "How close is your government to its people? Worldwide indicators on localization and decentralization," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 8, pages 1-61.
    5. Andrea Filippetti & Agnese Sacchi, 2016. "Decentralization and economic growth reconsidered: The role of regional authority," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(8), pages 1793-1824, December.
    6. Sidra Naeem & Rana Ejaz Ali Khan, 2021. "Fiscal Decentralization and Gender Equality in Developing Economies: Dynamics of Income Groups in Economies and Corruption," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 11(9), pages 745-761, September.
    7. Ivanyna, Maksym & von Haldenwang, Christian, 2012. "A comparative view on the tax performance of developing countries: Regional patterns, non-tax revenue and governance," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 6, pages 1-44.
    8. Anwar Shah, 2014. "Decentralized Provision of Public Infrastructure and Corruption," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1418, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    9. Félix J. López-Iturriaga & Iván Pastor Sanz, 2018. "Predicting Public Corruption with Neural Networks: An Analysis of Spanish Provinces," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 140(3), pages 975-998, December.

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