Bad Governance and Corruption

This book explains why the role of corruption varies greatly between public services, between people, between national systems of governance, and between measures of corruption. In developing countries, corruption affects social services and law enforcement institutions. When public officials do not act as bureaucrats delivering services by the book, people can try to get them by hook or by crook. The book's analysis draws on a data base of sample surveys of 175,000 people in 125 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North and South America. The authors avoid one-size-fits-all proposals for reform and instead provide measures that can be applied to particular public services to reduce or eliminate opportunities for corruption.