Corruption Perceptions Index

Corruption perception index 2014

Transparency International (TI) has published the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) since 1995, annually ranking countries "by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys."[1] The CPI generally defines corruption as "the misuse of public power for private benefit."[2]

The CPI currently ranks 177 countries "on a scale from 100 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt)."[3]

Methods

Transparency International commissioned Johann Graf Lambsdorff of the University of Passau to produce the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).[4] The 2012 CPI draws on 13 different surveys and assessments from 12 different institutions.[5] The institutions are the African Development Bank, the Bertelsmann Foundation, the Economist Intelligence Unit, Freedom House, Global Insight, International Institute for Management Development, Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, Political Risk Services, the World Economic Forum, the World Bank and the World Justice Project.[6]

Countries must be assessed by at least three sources to appear in the CPI.[7] The 13 surveys/assessments are either business people opinion surveys or performance assessments from a group of analysts.[2] Early CPIs used public opinion surveys.[7]

The CPI measures perception of corruption due to the difficulty of measuring absolute levels of corruption.[8]

Validity

A study published in 2002 found a "very strong significant correlation" between the Corruption Perceptions Index and two other proxies for corruption: Black Market activity and overabundance of regulation. All three metrics also had a highly significant correlation with real gross domestic product per capita (RGDP/Cap). The Corruption Perceptions Index correlation with RGDP/Cap was the strongest.[9]

Reports

2014

The 20 top countries that were ranked as having the lowest perceived levels of corruption were:

# Country Score # Country Score
1  Denmark 92 11  Australia 80
2  New Zealand 91 12  Germany 79
3  Finland 89  Iceland
4  Sweden 87 14  United Kingdom 78
5  Norway 86 15  Belgium 76
  Switzerland  Japan
7  Singapore 84 17  Barbados 74
8  Netherlands 83  Hong Kong
9  Luxembourg 82  Ireland
10  Canada 81  United States
Source:[10]

The 20 bottom countries that were ranked as having the highest perceived levels of corruption were:

# Country Score # Country Score
174  Somalia 8 161  Yemen 19
 North Korea  Venezuela
173  Sudan 11  Haiti
172  Afghanistan 12  Guinea-Bissau
171  South Sudan 15  Angola
170  Iraq 16 159  Syria 20
169  Turkmenistan 17  Burundi
166  Uzbekistan 18 156  Zimbabwe 21
 Libya Burma Myanmar
 Eritrea  Cambodia
Source:[10]

2013

The 20 top countries that were ranked as having the lowest perceived levels of corruption were:

# Country Score # Country Score
1  Denmark 91 11  Luxembourg 80
 New Zealand 12  Germany 78
3  Finland 89  Iceland
 Sweden 14  United Kingdom 76
5  Norway 86 15  Barbados 75
 Singapore  Belgium
7   Switzerland 85  Hong Kong
8  Netherlands 83 18  Japan 74
9  Australia 81 19  United States 73
 Canada  Uruguay
Source:[11]

The 20 bottom countries that were ranked as having the highest perceived levels of corruption were:

# Country Score # Country Score
175  Somalia 8 167  Yemen 18
 North Korea 163  Haiti 19
 Afghanistan  Guinea-Bissau
174  Sudan 11  Equatorial Guinea
173  South Sudan 14  Chad
172  Libya 15 160  Venezuela 20
171  Iraq 16  Eritrea
168  Uzbekistan 17  Cambodia
 Turkmenistan 158  Zimbabwe 21
 Syria Burma Myanmar
Source:[11]

2012

The 20 top countries that were ranked as having the lowest perceived levels of corruption were:

# Country Score # Country Score
1  Denmark 90 11  Iceland 82
 Finland 12  Luxembourg 80
 New Zealand 13  Germany 79
4  Sweden 88 14  Hong Kong 77
5  Singapore 87 15  Barbados 76
6   Switzerland 86 16  Belgium 75
7  Australia 85 17  Japan 74
 Norway  United Kingdom
9  Canada 84 19  United States 73
 Netherlands 20  Chile 72
 Uruguay
Source:[12]

The 20 bottom countries that were ranked as having the highest perceived levels of corruption were:

# Country Score # Country Score
174  Somalia 8 165  Chad 19
 North Korea  Burundi
 Afghanistan 163  Zimbabwe 20
173  Sudan 11  Equatorial Guinea
172 Burma Myanmar 15 160  Libya 21
170  Uzbekistan 17  Laos
 Turkmenistan Democratic Republic of the Congo DR Congo
169  Iraq 18 157  Tajikistan 22
165  Venezuela 19  Cambodia
 Haiti  Angola
Source:[12]

2011

The 20 top countries that were ranked as having the lowest perceived levels of corruption were:

# Country Score # Country Score
1  New Zealand 95 11  Luxembourg 85
2  Denmark 94 12  Hong Kong 84
 Finland 13  Iceland 83
4  Sweden 93 14  Germany 80
5  Singapore 92  Japan
6  Norway 90 16  Austria 78
7  Netherlands 89  Barbados
8  Australia 88  United Kingdom
  Switzerland 19  Belgium 75
10  Canada 87  Ireland
Source:[13]

The 20 bottom countries that were ranked as having the highest perceived levels of corruption were:

# Country Score # Country Score
182  Somalia 10 172  Equatorial Guinea 19
 North Korea  Burundi
180 Burma Myanmar 15 168  Niger 20
 Afghanistan Democratic Republic of the Congo DR Congo
177  Uzbekistan 16  Chad
 Turkmenistan  Angola
 Sudan 164  Yemen 21
175  Iraq 18  Kyrgyzstan
 Haiti  Guinea
172  Venezuela 19  Cambodia
Source:[13]

2010

The 20 top countries that were ranked as having the lowest perceived levels of corruption were:

# Country Score # Country Score
1  Denmark 93 11  Iceland 85
 New Zealand  Luxembourg
 Singapore 13  Hong Kong 84
4  Finland 92 14  Ireland 80
 Sweden 15  Austria 79
6  Canada 89  Germany
7  Netherlands 88 17  Barbados 78
8  Australia 87  Japan
  Switzerland 19  Qatar 77
10  Norway 86 20  United Kingdom 76
Source:[14]

The 20 bottom countries that were ranked as having the highest perceived levels of corruption were:

# Country Score # Country Score
178  Somalia 11 168  Angola 19
176 Burma Myanmar 14 164  Venezuela 20
 Afghanistan  Kyrgyzstan
175  Iraq 15  Guinea
172  Uzbekistan 16 Democratic Republic of the Congo DR Congo
 Turkmenistan 159  Tajikistan 21
 Sudan  Russia
171  Chad 17  Papua New Guinea
170  Burundi 18  Laos
168  Equatorial Guinea 19  Kenya
Source:[14]

Economic implications

Research papers published in 2007 and 2008 examined the economic consequences of corruption perception, as defined by the CPI. The researchers found a correlation between a higher CPI and higher long-term economic growth,[15] as well as an increase in GDP growth of 1.7% for every unit increase in a country's CPI score.[16] Also shown was a power-law dependence linking higher CPI score to higher rates of foreign investment in a country.

Criticism

Because corruption is willfully hidden, it is impossible to measure directly; instead, proxies for corruption are used.

Media outlets frequently use the raw numbers as a yardstick for government performance, without clarifying what the numbers mean. The local Transparency International chapter in Bangladesh disowned the index results after a change in methodology caused the country's scores to increase; media reported it as an "improvement".[17]

In a 2013 article in Foreign Policy, Alex Cobham suggested that CPI should be dropped for the good of Transparency International. It argues that the CPI embeds a powerful and misleading elite bias in popular perceptions of corruption, potentially contributing to a vicious cycle and at the same time incentivizing inappropriate policy responses. Cobham resumes: "the index corrupts perceptions to the extent that it's hard to see a justification for its continuing publication."[18]

In the United States, many lawyers advise international businesses to consult the CPI when attempting to measure the risk of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations in different nations. This practice has been criticized by the Minnesota Journal of International Law, which wrote that since the CPI may be subject to perceptual biases it therefore should not be considered by lawyers to be a measure of actual national corruption risk.[19]

Transparency International also publishes the Global Corruption Barometer, which ranks countries by corruption levels using direct surveys instead of perceived expert opinions, which has been under criticism for substantial bias from the powerful elite.[18]

References

  1. ↑ Transparency International (2011). "Corruption Perceptions Index". Transparency International. Transparency International. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 CPI 2010: Long methodological brief, p. 2
  3. ↑ Transparency International (2012). "Corruption Perceptions Index 2012: In detail". Transparency International. Transparency International. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  4. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions: TI Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI 2005)". Retrieved 22 November 2005.
  5. ↑ CPI 2010: Long methodological brief, p. 1
  6. ↑ Transparency International (2010). Corruption Perceptions Index 2010: Sources of information (PDF) (Report). Transparency International. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 CPI 2010: Long methodological brief, p. 7
  8. ↑ Transparency International (2010). "Frequently asked questions (FAQs)". Corruption Perceptions Index 2010. Transparency International. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  9. ↑ Wilhelm, Paul G. (2002). "International Validation of the Corruption Perceptions Index: Implications for Business Ethics and Entrepreneurship Education". Journal of Business Ethics (Springer Netherlands) 35 (3): 177–189. doi:10.1023/A:1013882225402.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Corruption Perceptions Index 2014. Full table and rankings. Transparency International. Retrieved: 3 December 2014.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Corruption Perceptions Index 2013. Full table and rankings. Transparency International. Retrieved: 4 December 2013.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Corruption Perceptions Index 2012. Full table and rankings. Transparency International. Retrieved: 11 November 2014.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Corruption Perceptions Index 2011. Full table and rankings. Transparency International. Retrieved: 4 December 2013.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Corruption Perceptions Index 2010. Full table and rankings. Transparency International. Retrieved: 4 December 2013.
  15. ↑ Shao, J.; Ivanov, P. C.; Podobnik, B.; Stanley, H. E. (2007). "Quantitative relations between corruption and economic factors". The European Physical Journal B 56 (2): 157. arXiv:0705.0161. Bibcode:2007EPJB...56..157S. doi:10.1140/epjb/e2007-00098-2.
  16. ↑ Podobnik, B.; Shao, J.; Njavro, D.; Ivanov, P. C.; Stanley, H. E. (2008). "Influence of corruption on economic growth rate and foreign investment". The European Physical Journal B 63 (4): 547. arXiv:0710.1995. Bibcode:2008EPJB...63..547P. doi:10.1140/epjb/e2008-00210-2.
  17. ↑ Werve, Jonathan (2008-09-23). "TI's Index: Local Chapter Not Having It". Global Integrity.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Cobham, Alex. "Corrupting Perceptions". Foreign Policy.
  19. ↑ Campbell, Stuart Vincent. "Perception is Not Reality: The FCPA, Brazil, and the Mismeasurement of Corruption" 22 Minnesota Journal of International Law 1, p. 247 (2013).

External links

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