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Definition and Costs of Corruption


Corruption according to Transparency International is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. Corruption can be classified as grand, petty and political, depending on the amounts of money lost and the sector where it occurs. It is a wrongdoing on the part of an authority or powerful party through means that are illegitimate, immoral, or incompatible with ethical standards (corruption, n.d.). Corruption often results from patronage and is colligated with bribery.
Corruption has many costs, some more severe than others, such as loss of lives. The cost of corruption can be categorized into political, economic, environmental and social costs. In economic terms, corruption exhausts national wealth. Corrupt politicians invest limited and scarce resources in projects that they will benefit from rather than those that benefit the communities.
As such, they tend to prioritize high-profile projects like pipelines and refineries over less striking but more pressing infrastructure projects like roads, hospitals and schools. Corruption distorts competition and obstructs the development of fair market structures which in turn discourages investment. Corruption is said to have a multiplier effect.
Precious, rare and in some cases unrenewable natural resources are heedlessly exploited and entire ecological systems ravaged as a result of the non-enforcement or lack of environmental legislation and regulations. Mining, logging and carbon offsets[i] are the sectors which receive the most bribe in exchange for unrestricted destruction.
Corruption is an acid which corrodes the social fabric of undermining people’s trust in the political system, its institutions, operations, relations and society by in its leadership. When the population gets apathetic and distrustful, the combat against corruption gets even more challenging.
[i] According to carbonneutral.com, carbon offsetting is the use of carbon credits to enable businesses to compensate for their emissions, meet their carbon reduction goals and support the move to a low carbon economy.

Works Cited

corruption. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2016, from businessdictionary.com: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/corruption.html
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