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The corruption-growth relationship: Do political institutions matter?

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  • Shrabani Saha
  • Kunal Sen

Abstract

Corruption is widely believed to negatively affect economic growth. However, many East and Southeast Asia countries either achieved or currently are achieving impressively rapid economic growth despite widespread corruption — the 'East Asian Paradox'. Is this negative relationship equally likely to hold for autocracies and democracies? This paper examines the role of political institutions in mediating the corruption-growth relationship using panel data over one hundred countries for the period 1984-2016.

Suggested Citation

  • Shrabani Saha & Kunal Sen, 2019. "The corruption-growth relationship: Do political institutions matter?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-65, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2019-65
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    Keywords

    Corruption; Democracy; Economic growth; Panel data analysis;
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