Government Performance, Ethics and Corruption in the Global Competitiveness Index

Abstract

Public administration efficiency is an up to date topic. More in depth, the crucial point is how it is related, on the one hand, with a disruptive phenomenon like corruption and, on the other hand, with ethics. This study aims to show how public sector performance is affected by ethics and corruption. In order to explain such a relationship, this research run a cross-country analysis, where indices of public-sector performance are juxtaposed with corruption levels. Using the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) from World Economic Forum, through a regression analysis on a dataset made by 140 countries in 2014–2015, this paper shed the light on the relationships between public-sector performance, ethics and corruption. Results show a correlation between government efficiency and ethics. These findings could be an inspiration for government workers and managers in order to establish an ethical culture that can increase public performance.