Influence of Economic Factors Impede Integrity and Ethical Practices in the Public Sector. A Critical Literature Review

Purpose: Antisocial behavior is a matter of major public concern, especially in neighborhoods perceived to have poor quality of life and in which incidents of more serious crime are likely to occur. The overall objective of this study was to examine influence of economic factors impede integrity and ethical practices in the public sector globally. A critical literature review Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps. Findings: The study concluded that the absence of an effective economic crimes law was cited as a major impediment in the fight against graft and unethical practices. The study also concluded that an effective economic crimes law not only outlines the economic crimes, it prescribes penalties to be sanctioned on individuals who have engaged in economic crime and lays out the procedure and process for recovering illicit wealth. The study also concluded that the country that did not have economic crime law the cases of corruption and unethical behaviour were reported to be high. Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: This study recommended that the policy makers should introduce of lifestyle audits of public servants as a key strategy in the fight against unethical practices in public service .This was because democracies where lifestyle audit was a mandatory requirement for key public officials unethical practices were less rampant and investigation and prosecution of graft cases was more effective. The study also recommended that it was imperative that key public officials underwent lifestyle audits in order to curb graft in public service and that officers involved in the investigative process should also undergo lifestyle audits.