Does Political Corruption Affect Economic Growth in Transitional Democracies?
Author by
-------------------------------------------------
Mohamed Waheed
Does Political Corruption affect Economic Growth in Transitional Democracies?
The call for democracy in the name of economic growth and prosperity has never been louder than it is today. Recent movements such as the “Arab Spring” are attempts to establish a democratic system of government in countries where authoritarians, bribery, and abject poverty are widespread. According Nye (2009), a professor of economics at Washington University in St. Louis, economic growth has a direct effect on the overall standard of living of the people in any country. Economic growth is often associated with a higher level of democracy (Kurzman, 2002). Organizations such as the United Nations support democratic movements across the world as democratic systems of governments are proclaimed to be transparent, promote civil rights and economic prosperity. For these reasons, countries embrace democratic systems of government, believing that democracy will help to eradicate corruption, which in turn supports economic growth. Nevertheless, the countries which embrace democracy are known as transitional democracies at the early stage of their development. Carothers (2000) defines transitional democracies as any nation moving away from authoritarian rule to a democracy. Wooten, (2007) also defines transitional democracies as those nations which have made a shift away from dictatorship towards democracy. Though both of the definitions are same, for the purpose of this paper, the former definition will be used throughout this paper. Transitional democracies take a long period of time to become a fully formed to enjoy the benefits of democracy (Barry et al., 2009). During this transitional period, countries experience tremendous economic challenges along with political corruption (Adhikari 2012).
Similarly, organization such as the World Bank, the International Momentary Fund (IMF) and the United Nations (UN
-------------------------------------------------
Mohamed Waheed
Does Political Corruption affect Economic Growth in Transitional Democracies?
The call for democracy in the name of economic growth and prosperity has never been louder than it is today. Recent movements such as the “Arab Spring” are attempts to establish a democratic system of government in countries where authoritarians, bribery, and abject poverty are widespread. According Nye (2009), a professor of economics at Washington University in St. Louis, economic growth has a direct effect on the overall standard of living of the people in any country. Economic growth is often associated with a higher level of democracy (Kurzman, 2002). Organizations such as the United Nations support democratic movements across the world as democratic systems of governments are proclaimed to be transparent, promote civil rights and economic prosperity. For these reasons, countries embrace democratic systems of government, believing that democracy will help to eradicate corruption, which in turn supports economic growth. Nevertheless, the countries which embrace democracy are known as transitional democracies at the early stage of their development. Carothers (2000) defines transitional democracies as any nation moving away from authoritarian rule to a democracy. Wooten, (2007) also defines transitional democracies as those nations which have made a shift away from dictatorship towards democracy. Though both of the definitions are same, for the purpose of this paper, the former definition will be used throughout this paper. Transitional democracies take a long period of time to become a fully formed to enjoy the benefits of democracy (Barry et al., 2009). During this transitional period, countries experience tremendous economic challenges along with political corruption (Adhikari 2012).
Similarly, organization such as the World Bank, the International Momentary Fund (IMF) and the United Nations (UN
Bibliography: Barry, Charles. "National Defense University." National Defense University. (2009): 12. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. <http://www.ndu.edu/CTNSP/docUploaded/DTP 69 What Democracy for Afghanistan reprint.pdf>. Callen, Tim . "Gross Domestic Product: An Economy’s All." IMF. 28 2012: 1. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/basics/gdp.htm DRURY, COOPER Ebben, Wouter. (2009): 03. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. <http://www.degit.ifw-kiel.de/papers/degit_14/c014_014.pdf>. Heidenheimer Arnold J, Michael Johnston, & Victor T. LeVine (eds.): Political Corruption. A Handbook. New Brunswick NJ, 1989 (third printing 1993), Transaction Pub. Maxwell, Amanda. (2004): n. page. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. <http://www.dartmouth.edu/~govt/docs/Winters.pdf>. Nye, John. "The concise encyclopedia of economics." concise encyclopedia of economics. n. page. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. Nowak, Robert. (2000): 2. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. <http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/osce/osceunece/misc_nowak.pdf. Podobnik, Boris . "THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL B." THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL B. 63.547–550 (2008) The World Bank1, Wooten, Alexander. (2007): n. page. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. <http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1083&context=curej>.