Data – corruption and democracies

This very short article was by the Our World in Data organization, and they provided some simple, but clear data, showing that democracies tend to have lower level of corruption.  In this article, their data “shows correlation, not causation — but research on the causal link suggests democratic systems can indeed help expose and reduce corruption. And there is also a causal impact running the other way: corruption can weaken democratic institutions, for instance by lowering voter turnout.”  The data that was presented in a chart and what was interesting was that no country appeared in the top right, none were rated as both having strong democratic institutions and being highly corrupt.

Why is this interesting, why should we care and what should be done? For those of us who spend our days thinking about corruption and how to help the world avoid it, occasionally miss what is very clear – accountability (democracy) leads to less corruption.  This is highlighted when looking at the more autocratic countries (Myanmar and Russia) where the citizens have fewer rights to criticize their government, what the government is doing, as well as corruption by their government officials. What is clear, and we can see on a regular basis, is to remind international donors, international counterparts, as well as CSOs, both national and international, that the slide toward autocracy, as well as losses in voting rights, are essential in the fight against corruption. Sometimes we get caught up in the weeds and we must simply remind ourselves that accountability and transparency are elements of democracy and we must not forget how important it is.

Link:

https://ourworldindata.org/data-insights/democracies-tend-to-have-lower-levels-of-corruption