Essay on India Corruption
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BSP2005 Research Essay- Stage 5
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Corruption in India- Causes, Impact and the Fight Against Corruption Despite the cohabitation of corruption and exceptional economic growth in India, researchers argue that that there is potential for further growth that is held back by the institutions of administration and linked corruption (Heston & Kumar, 2008). The roots of corruption can be traced back to various systems set up by the British (Quah, 2008). In this paper, transactional corruption is discussed, where money changes hands for the services rendered, or the expectation of the same. We should note that there is a high degree of variation in terms of the level of corruption across India caused by factors such as the degree of wealth, cultural context (Widmalm, 2005), education and fiscal decentralization (Charron, 2010). The government’s monopoly in the supply of public goods and services has created several avenues for corruption (Quah, 2008; Paul, 1998; Wade, 1985). This has led to a reallocation of resources from efficient sectors to sectors that are good avenues for rent collection (Sondhi, 2000; Roy, 1996). An experiment on obtaining drivers’ license in India revealed that many unqualified drivers obtained licenses faster than more qualified drivers due to the presence of agents in the license obtaining process (Bertrand, Djankov, Hanna & Mullainathan, 2007). Although this may not be the ideal example that displays inefficient allocation of resources, this can be considered a reliable representation of the overall scenario. Corruption also exists because of strong influence of personalities not holding formal positions (Tummala, 2002). This creates a relative lack of accountability of the service providers to the citizens. When these top-down accountabilities are weak, horizontal accountability
BSP2005 Research Essay- Stage 5
-------------------------------------------------
Corruption in India- Causes, Impact and the Fight Against Corruption Despite the cohabitation of corruption and exceptional economic growth in India, researchers argue that that there is potential for further growth that is held back by the institutions of administration and linked corruption (Heston & Kumar, 2008). The roots of corruption can be traced back to various systems set up by the British (Quah, 2008). In this paper, transactional corruption is discussed, where money changes hands for the services rendered, or the expectation of the same. We should note that there is a high degree of variation in terms of the level of corruption across India caused by factors such as the degree of wealth, cultural context (Widmalm, 2005), education and fiscal decentralization (Charron, 2010). The government’s monopoly in the supply of public goods and services has created several avenues for corruption (Quah, 2008; Paul, 1998; Wade, 1985). This has led to a reallocation of resources from efficient sectors to sectors that are good avenues for rent collection (Sondhi, 2000; Roy, 1996). An experiment on obtaining drivers’ license in India revealed that many unqualified drivers obtained licenses faster than more qualified drivers due to the presence of agents in the license obtaining process (Bertrand, Djankov, Hanna & Mullainathan, 2007). Although this may not be the ideal example that displays inefficient allocation of resources, this can be considered a reliable representation of the overall scenario. Corruption also exists because of strong influence of personalities not holding formal positions (Tummala, 2002). This creates a relative lack of accountability of the service providers to the citizens. When these top-down accountabilities are weak, horizontal accountability
References: 1) Krishna K. Tummala (2002): “Corruption in India: Control measures and consequences”, Asian Journal of Political Science, 10:2, 43-69 2) Krishna K 3) Jon S.T. Quah (2008): “Curbing Corruption in India: An Impossible Dream?” Asian Journal of Political Science, 16:3, 240-259 4) Samuel Paul (1998): “Corruption in India: Who will bell the cat?” Asian Journal of Political Science, 6:1, 1-15 9) Dilip K. Bhattacharyya and Susmita Ghose (1998): “Corruption in India and the Hidden Economy”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 33, No. 44 (Oct. 31 - Nov. 6, 1998), pp. 2795-2799 10) Monica Escaleras, Nejat Anbarci, Charles A 13) Anil K. Lal and Ronald W. Clement (2005): “Economic Development in India: The role of the Individual Enterprise (and the Entrepreneurial Spirit)”, Asia-Pacific Development Journal Vol. 12, No. 2, December 2005 14) S.Z.S 17) Bertrand, Djankov, Hanna, Mullainathan (2007): “Obtaining a Drivers License in India: An Experimental Approach to Studying Corruption”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 122 – No. 4 – Page. 1639 18) Jamie D Vol. 87, No. 1 (Jun 2009) pp. 89-108 19) L 20) Bussell. J.L, “Why Get Technical? Corruption and the Politics of Public Service Reform in the Indian States” (2010), Comparative Political Studies, October 2010, 43: 1230-1257