Corruption as a Self-Reinforcing Trap : Implications for Reform Strategy
Corruption is widely believed to be a self-reinforcing phenomenon, in the sense that the incentive to engage in corrupt acts increases as corruption becomes more widespread. Some argue that corruption's self-reinforcing property necessarily implies that incremental anticorruption reforms cannot be effective, and that the only way to escape a high-corruption equilibrium “trap” is through a so-called “big bang” or “big push.” However, corruption's self-reinforcing property does not logically entail the necessity of a big bang approach to reform. Indeed, corruption's self-reinforcing property may strengthen the case for pursuing sustained, cumulative incremental reforms. While there may be other reasons to prefer a big bang approach to an incremental approach, this conclusion cannot be grounded solely or primarily on corruption's self-reinforcing character.
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Article biblioteca |
| Published: |
Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank
2020-07
|
| Subjects: | CORRUPTION, SELF-REINFORCING BEHAVIOR, REFORM STRATEGY, INCREMENTALISM, BIG PUSH, PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36810 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Corruption is widely believed to be a self-reinforcing phenomenon, in the sense that the incentive to engage in corrupt acts increases as corruption becomes more widespread. Some argue that corruption's self-reinforcing property necessarily implies that incremental anticorruption reforms cannot be effective, and that the only way to escape a high-corruption equilibrium “trap” is through a so-called “big bang” or “big push.” However, corruption's self-reinforcing property does not logically entail the necessity of a big bang approach to reform. Indeed, corruption's self-reinforcing property may strengthen the case for pursuing sustained, cumulative incremental reforms. While there may be other reasons to prefer a big bang approach to an incremental approach, this conclusion cannot be grounded solely or primarily on corruption's self-reinforcing character. |
|---|