(Assignment 3) The consequences of corruption: Eric M. Uslaner - Avienaash

·      “Grand corruption makes people less trusting, hence grand corruption increases inequality while petty does not”.

·      “People in countries with high levels of corruption see a clear linkage between malfeasance by leaders and inequality.” (substantiated by statistical linkage)

·      “Corrupt Governments have less money to spend on basic services. When Govt. cannot provide basic services, people lose faith in their leaders”.

·      “For rich there are always alternative markets, but the poor may be forced to make small payments to public officials to get the basic services”. As a result the poor get poorer. This is what Uslaner calls as inequality trap.

·      Inequality à Low trust à corruption à more inequality

·      “In countries with high levels of corruption, the poor are forced into informal economy”.

·      “In corrupt regimes, the legal system is the heart of the problem rather than a solution. Weak legal system in corrupt regimes lead to greater opportunities for fraud as well as to a less competitive business climate”.

·      “The best way to deal with corruption is to address inequality”.

·      Uslaner undertakes a systematic study of corruption by drawing cases studies from various countries like India, China, Tunisia, Greece etc. The statistical measure of correlation provides substantial weightage to author’s claims.