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Corruption, democracy and Asia-Pacific countries

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  • Neil Campbell
  • Shrabani Saha

Abstract

This paper argues that the relationship between democracy and corruption is non-monotonic. When a country shifts from autocratic rule to highly imperfect democracy (an ‘electoral democracy’) it is frequently perceived that the level of corruption increases. Conversely, when the democracy level is already relatively high (approaching ‘mature democracy’) an increase in the level of democracy is typically expected to decrease the level of corruption. To assist with our discussion of these issues, before going on to the empirical part of the paper, we look specifically at the case of South Korea to illustrate how corruption responded to an increasing level of democracy. Using panel data, we find strong empirical support for the non-monotonic relationship. For Asia-Pacific countries, we find that the democracy-corruption relationship becomes negative, at a surprisingly high level of democracy. Moreover we also find that the South Asian region is the most corrupt.

Suggested Citation

  • Neil Campbell & Shrabani Saha, 2013. "Corruption, democracy and Asia-Pacific countries," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 290-303.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rjapxx:v:18:y:2013:i:2:p:290-303
    DOI: 10.1080/13547860.2013.778156
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Treisman, Daniel, 2000. "The causes of corruption: a cross-national study," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 399-457, June.
    2. Nelson, Michael A & Singh, Ram D, 1998. "Democracy, Economic Freedom, Fiscal Policy, and Growth in LDCs: A Fresh Look," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 46(4), pages 677-696, July.
    3. Billger, Sherrilyn M. & Goel, Rajeev K., 2009. "Do existing corruption levels matter in controlling corruption?: Cross-country quantile regression estimates," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 299-305, November.
    4. Alberto Ades & Rafael Di Tella, 1997. "The New Economics of Corruption: a Survey and Some New Results," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 45(3), pages 496-515, August.
    5. Kang, David C., 2002. "Bad Loans to Good Friends: Money Politics and the Developmental State in South Korea," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(1), pages 177-207, January.
    6. Emerson, Patrick M., 2006. "Corruption, competition and democracy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(1), pages 193-212, October.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Zeeshan, Muhammad & han, Jiabin & Rehman, Alam & Ullah, Irfan & Hussain, Arif & Alam Afridi, Fakhr E., 2022. "Exploring symmetric and asymmetric nexus between corruption, political instability, natural resources and economic growth in the context of Pakistan," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Victoria Butmalai & Liu Qijun, 2021. "A Perception-based Investigation on Corruption in Higher Education: Evidence from the Republic of Moldova," Journal of Public Administration and Governance, Macrothink Institute, vol. 11(1), pages 201222-2012, December.
    4. OUEGHLISSI, Rim & DERBALI, Ahmed, 2021. "Democracy, Corruption and Unemployment: Empirical Evidence from Developing Countries," MPRA Paper 107535, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Askarov, Zohid & Doucouliagos, Hristos, 2015. "Aid and institutions in transition economies," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 55-70.
    6. Rim Oueghlissi & Ahmed Derbali, 2024. "Democracy, Corruption and Unemployment: Empirical Evidence from Developing Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 7475-7496, June.
    7. Arega Shumetie & Mulugeta Damie Watabaji, 2019. "Effect of corruption and political instability on enterprises’ innovativeness in Ethiopia: pooled data based," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-19, December.

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