Corruption and legal (in)effectiveness: An empirical investigation

Abstract

Numerous studies have investigated the causes and measured the consequences of differences in corruption among countries. An effective legal system has been viewed as a key component in reducing corruption. However, estimating cross-sectional as well as panel data models, we find a significant inter-relationship between legal (in)effectiveness and various measures of corruption. This re-enforcing inter-relationship suggests that corruption is a persistent phenomenon and that strong forces tend to perpetuate corruption at fairly constant levels. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.