Corruption is by far not the main factor behind persisting poverty in the Global South. Transparency International recently published their latest annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), laid out in an eye-catching map of the world with the least corrupt nations coded in happy yellow and the most corrupt nations smeared in stigmatising red. The CPI defines corruption as the misuse of public power for private benefit, and draws its data from 12 different institutions including the World Bank, Freedom House, and the World Economic Forum. When I first saw this map I was struck by the fact that most of the yellow areas happen to be rich Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, whereas red covers almost the entirety of the global South, with countries like South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Somalia daubed especially dark. This geographical division fits squarely with mainstream views, which see corruption as the scourge of the developing world (cue cliche images of dictators in Africa and bribery in India). But is this storyline accurate? Corruption, superpower style According to the World Bank, corruption in the form of bribery and theft by government officials, the main target of the UN Convention, costs developing countries between $20bn and $40bn each year. Thats a lot of money. But its an extremely small proportion - onlyabout 3 percent - of the total illicit flows that leak out of public coffers. On the other hand, multinational companies steal more than $900bn from developing countries each year through tax evasion and other illicit practices. For the full article click below filmsforaction.org/articles/flipping-the-corruption-myth-which-is-more-corrupt-the-petty-dictatorship-or-the-superpower-that-installs-it/ DA
Posted on: Wed, 12 Feb 2014 22:10:00 +0000
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