Geographically uneven landscapes of Asian corruption

ABSTRACT Corruption plagues all Asian countries to one extent or another. Rather than the universal one-size-fits-all models, corruption must be understood within national and local contexts, that is, as geographically variable. This paper explores this issue in three steps. First it offers a discussion of corruption’s origins and consequences, noting the catalyzing role played by anti-democratic governments, censorship, poverty, illiteracy, and cultural norms. Second, it maps Asian corruption using data from Transparency International and correlates it with several economic and political measures, including national income, the Gini index, literacy, a Freedom House score, and the World Bank measure of government effectiveness. The third part consists of an extended discussion of national variations in corruption throughout the region, focusing on China and other highly corrupt states. The conclusion criticizes the role of anti-corruption campaigns and points to other, more substantive strategies to reduce it.