Social Implications of Corruption in Developing Countries: Case Study of Pakistan and India

Abstract Background The existence of corruption threatens all aspect of a society, be that social, economic or political. Corruption is more pronounced in developing countries; however, it attracts very little attention from decision-makers. This paper analyses the social implications (health and education) of corruption in India and Pakistan. According to the Corruption Perception Index Report (2019), these countries are perceived to be the most corrupt ones. Objectives Corruption has been researched enormously with respect to its economic and political consequences, but not much attention has been given to its social implications on human rights. Corruption violates human rights directly or indirectly. Therefore, this paper aims to elaborate the links (direct and indirect) between corruption and human rights and focus on the consequences of corruption on health and education; it also aims to present anti-corruption policies to curb corruption in the investigated countries. Methods The research employs a systematic literature review method (PRISMA-P 2015) that identifies currently available research, selects and assesses contribution, analyses and synthesises data, and presents pieces of evidence with a justified conclusion. It also encourages researchers to apply PRISMA protocols in future researches. Results The results show that more than 80% of the reviewed articles argue that corruption is one of the invincible reasons for the people's dire social condition in India and Pakistan; moreover, corruption remains ignored, which shows that there are gaps to understand how corruption can extremely dent the right to education and health.