Political institutions and the control of corruption: a cross-country evidence

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the significant association between political institutions and the control of corruption. Design/methodology/approach This study uses ordinary least squares model to examine the following: quality of political institutions; the association between the strength of democratic institutions and control of corruption; the association between government effectiveness and control of corruption; and the association between legal institutions and control of corruption. Findings The result shows that there is positive association between democratic institutions, government bureaucracy and rule of law with the control of corruption. From the political perspective, stronger democratic institutions are found to be associated with higher ability to control corruption in a country. When viewed from country’s economic and social well-being perspective, highly effective government bureaucracy is positively associated with ability to control corruption. Finally, rule of law is also associated with the control of corruption. Originality/value This study points toward clear priorities for reform as stronger democratic institutions, efficient government bureaucracy and adherence to the rule of law improve the control of corruption. The results show that stronger democratic institutions, highly effective government bureaucracy and rule of law are associated with higher control of corruption. This supports the theory that quality political institutions reduce corruption in the long-run. In addition, this study shows that press freedom, regulatory quality and political stability further enhance the capacity of such institutions to combat corruption. Conversely, crony capitalism systems undermine this positive association.

Controlling corruption in African countries: innovation, financial inclusion and access to education as alternative measures

“…As for the quality of the legal system, we find that an increase can reduce corruption levels. The studies conducted by Setor et al (2021) and Chong et al (2021) also showed a negative and statistically significant effect of the same variable on corruption. Thus, these results ensure that the quality of the legal system is an important determinant in fighting corruption.…”

The Heterogeneous Effects of Government Size and Press Freedom on Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa: Method of Moment Quantile Regression Approach

“…In a cross-country empirical research, Hamada et al (2019) investigate the relationship between press freedom and corruption using OLS regression, their evidence reveals a significant relationship between higher levels of press freedom and lower corruption levels. Breen and Gillanders (2020) show that greater press freedom tends to be associated with lower levels of corruption, while Chong et al (2020) demonstrate that there is a negative relationship between press freedom and corruption. The empirical evidence presented by Brunetti and Weder (2003) converged with the results of Chong et al (2020) on the negative impact of press freedom on corruption.…”

“…Breen and Gillanders (2020) show that greater press freedom tends to be associated with lower levels of corruption, while Chong et al (2020) demonstrate that there is a negative relationship between press freedom and corruption. The empirical evidence presented by Brunetti and Weder (2003) converged with the results of Chong et al (2020) on the negative impact of press freedom on corruption. Their evidence further reveals causality from press freedom to less corruption.…”

“…The second strand of the literature argues that large governments promote a system of checks and balances and strengthens accountability, hence an increase in government size reduces corruption (Billger and Goel 2009; Chong et al 2020; La Porta et al 1999; Themudo 2013). This argument implies a view that most developed countries generally have larger governments and are relatively less corrupt than developing countries.…”

“…Their evidence reveals that a large government size reduces corruption. In recent findings, Chong et al (2020) note that larger governments reduce corruption in developed countries, attributing this outcome to the high levels of press freedom and quality political institutions. The evidence is corroborated by La Porta et al (1999) and Themudo (2013).…”