My Two Bit on Corruption II
We all know corruption ( definition and basic info on corruption is
available here
http://www.transparency.org/whoweare/organisation/faqs_on_corruption )
is eating away at our societies, economically, socially and in every
other way possible. But why is there not enough research done on
tackling it?
One reason I came across is that the government needs to release data for analysis. However it is unable to do so as it would mean that the government officially acknowledges corruption. I am not sure how this works. I am only reporting what I heard. If anybody has greater insights on this, please do share. Another is that it is difficult to measure corruption.
People have compared the wealth of countries with corruption in those countries. This may not be the perfect place to start. Daniel Kaufman of World Bank says that some emerging economies have lesser corruption than some of the wealthy countries. Therefore, while it may be true that corruption causes a decrease in economic performance, the contrary need not necessarily be true.
I wonder if any of the studies have included the Gini index in their analysis. The Gini index gives a measure of the inequality in a society. Higher the measure, greater the inequality. Maybe it is too simplistic, maybe someone has already done it, again, I don't know. I wish I had lots of money so I could just retire and start working on some of my pet projects, one of them being corruption; the causes, and the methods to ameliorate them.
Perhaps one way to deal with corruption is to increase transparency. But what issues will greater transparency kindle and can they be dealt with?
One obvious issue with transparency is the loss of privacy. A consequence of loss of privacy is the rise of a big brother state. Will we be killing a Frankenstein's monster to give birth to another greater one? Can transparency be engendered without a loss of privacy?
Another solution often offered is to remove the currency notes of higher denomination from the economy. But what are the consequences of this? What will be its effect on inflation? If at all it has any.
A view supporting the removal of higher denomination notes is available here ( http://arthakranti.org/analysis/economic-reality/effects-of-taxation-system-and-high-denomination-currency ). A contrary view is given here ( http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-says-ban-highvalue-notes-finmin/989115/ ).
People say China has high levels of corruption. My view, from what I have read, is that the Chinese top brass understand this and are trying to tackle it. People try to wish away the success of China by hoping that it has systemic defects that will cause it to fail. But it is like wishing away the thousand pound gorilla in the room. That though is a different discussion for a different day.
The problem with cocktail party discussions is that everybody comes up with opinions without thinking through the consequences. Any understanding requires some study and deeper levels of discussion.
If anybody of you wants to know more on this subject, an interesting interview of Kaufman is available at http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20190295~menuPK:34457~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html .
Again, please feel free to leave behind your views and comments. The more we share, the more we learn.
One reason I came across is that the government needs to release data for analysis. However it is unable to do so as it would mean that the government officially acknowledges corruption. I am not sure how this works. I am only reporting what I heard. If anybody has greater insights on this, please do share. Another is that it is difficult to measure corruption.
People have compared the wealth of countries with corruption in those countries. This may not be the perfect place to start. Daniel Kaufman of World Bank says that some emerging economies have lesser corruption than some of the wealthy countries. Therefore, while it may be true that corruption causes a decrease in economic performance, the contrary need not necessarily be true.
I wonder if any of the studies have included the Gini index in their analysis. The Gini index gives a measure of the inequality in a society. Higher the measure, greater the inequality. Maybe it is too simplistic, maybe someone has already done it, again, I don't know. I wish I had lots of money so I could just retire and start working on some of my pet projects, one of them being corruption; the causes, and the methods to ameliorate them.
Perhaps one way to deal with corruption is to increase transparency. But what issues will greater transparency kindle and can they be dealt with?
One obvious issue with transparency is the loss of privacy. A consequence of loss of privacy is the rise of a big brother state. Will we be killing a Frankenstein's monster to give birth to another greater one? Can transparency be engendered without a loss of privacy?
Another solution often offered is to remove the currency notes of higher denomination from the economy. But what are the consequences of this? What will be its effect on inflation? If at all it has any.
A view supporting the removal of higher denomination notes is available here ( http://arthakranti.org/analysis/economic-reality/effects-of-taxation-system-and-high-denomination-currency ). A contrary view is given here ( http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-says-ban-highvalue-notes-finmin/989115/ ).
People say China has high levels of corruption. My view, from what I have read, is that the Chinese top brass understand this and are trying to tackle it. People try to wish away the success of China by hoping that it has systemic defects that will cause it to fail. But it is like wishing away the thousand pound gorilla in the room. That though is a different discussion for a different day.
The problem with cocktail party discussions is that everybody comes up with opinions without thinking through the consequences. Any understanding requires some study and deeper levels of discussion.
If anybody of you wants to know more on this subject, an interesting interview of Kaufman is available at http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20190295~menuPK:34457~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html .
Again, please feel free to leave behind your views and comments. The more we share, the more we learn.
posted by Anon @ 8:59 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home