An investigation into whether current definitions of corruption have disproportionate adverse impact on some economies

Abstract

To date, no globally acceptable definition of corruption exists. Over the last two centuries the term has been variously redefined to point to very different behaviours. Yet a plethora of reports and publications by agencies such as Transparency International, The International Monetary Fund, The World Bank and other similar organisations have emerged, identifying and calling out activities that they term corrupt practices in emerging and developing countries. Utilising a conceptual research methodology, this study considers whether allegations of the existence of widespread corruption to justify directive behaviour are true, and examines to what extent the consequent impact of this behaviour is equitable across states. The study traces how different views of what constituted corrupt behaviour evolved across cultures/nations/ states/economies from antiquity until the present. It explores the provisions of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, and other pertinent international and national policies and legal instruments. And tries to establish whether such provisions have contributed to even-handed application of policy across countries. The study finds that the tools and scales that claim to measure levels of corruption are unreliable. They either: 1) depend disproportionately on subjective measures of popular perception; 2) are too reliant on proxy measures; 3) are unclear on what is being measured in the absence of a clear definition of what constitutes corrupt behaviour; or 4) are reliant on the selfassessments of the organizations under scrutiny. Consequently, institutions with vested interests and specific political ideologies or economic theories misuse the rules and guidelines they construct around corruption to pursue their own interests. With the result that current definitions of corruption and how they are applied have disproportionate adverse impact on some economies.