Corrupting activities and economic development
| Published date | 09 March 2015 |
| Pages | 64-70 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/WJEMSD-07-2014-0020 |
| Date | 09 March 2015 |
| Author | Beverlee B. Anderson |
| Subject Matter | Strategy,Business ethics,Sustainability |
Corrupting activities and
economic development
Beverlee B. Anderson
Department of Marketing, California State University San Marcos,
San Marcos, California, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of thispaper is to explore the relationshipsof different types of corruption and
selected economicmeasures that appear to contribute to a country’s sustainable economic development.
Design/methodology/approach –The research used selected data from the World Economic
Forum Executive Opinion Survey on corruption activities (Irregular Payments and Bribes, the
Diversion of Public Funds, Organised Crime, and Favouritism in Decisions of Government Officials)
and Ethical Behaviour of Firms. The economic data (FDI, GDP, GDP Growth and Capital Formation
among others) is from the World Bank database. A series of statistical models were developed to
examine the relationships among different types of corruption and a country’s economic development.
Findings –The findings are mixed, showing that some types of corruption have greater negative
impact on specific aspects of economic development.
Research limitations/implications –The research is limited by the availability of data from
reliable sources and the availability of data on a limited number of corruption activities. Only four
aspects of corruption are examined in this paper. Only selected aspects of a country’s economy were
examined. The variables analysed in the study were not available for each of the 179 countries.
Practical implications –A country may learn the types of corrupting activities that must be
controlled to aid in the targeted growth of specific economic development, such as Direct Foreign
Investment.
Originality/value –This study builds on previous work by Anderson (2012, 2013) that used
Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) as a global measure of corruption.
This study, in contrast, uses the results of the World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey, to
indicate the perceived level of different types (components) of corruption. By using more specific
measure of corruption, there is a better understanding of the relationships between corruption and
economic development.
Keywords Economics, Sustainable development, Business, Ethics, Values, Social responsibility, FDI
Paper type Research paper
Introduction and background
This paper builds on previous research on corruption and economic develo pment.
“Corruption and Economic Development: A Puzzling Relationship”was presented
at the 2012 WASD Conference (Anderson, 2012) and “Corruption and Economic
Development: New Variables in the Mix”was presented at the 2013 WASD Conference
and published in the International Journal of Innovation and Knowledge Management
in Middle East and North Africa (IJIKMMENA) (Anderson, 2013). The previous
research focused on a selection of social and economic factors that were thought to
have been related to corruption and/or economic development. In the two previous
papers, the measure for corruption was the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) produced
by Transparency International. This index ranges from 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (very
clean) and data are collected for 178 countries. These researches found that cultural
dimensions as classified by Hofstede (2011, 2012) were not directly related to Transparency
International’s CPI. The Strength of Legal Rights was found to be associated with both
the CPI and GINI Index 2008. None of the additional variables examined were found to be
World Journal of
Entrepreneurship, Management
and Sustainable Development
Vol. 11 No. 1, 2015
pp. 64-70
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2042-5961
DOI 10.1108/WJEMSD-07-2014-0020
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2042-5961.htm
64
WJEMSD
11,1
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