Corruption and Economic Development

Abstract

Corruption is believed to be widespread and it adversely affects countries at different intervals, in different degrees. Corruption scandals show that bribes are commonplace and that even societies that are supposedly free of corruption are affected by it. However, as highlighted in several studies, corruption influences countries' economic development in a manner in which the perception about rich countries is that they are less corrupt than poor nations. It is unclear, however, if increases in income reduce corruption across regions and income classification consistently. Researchers have often focused on the process of detection rather than exploring the degree to which the income level has an effect on corruption.