Transparency International: 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index

 (From Transparency International, 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index, p. 4).

Lawyers for Better Business (L4BB), an online publication and network to enable lawyers to become champions of corporate responsibility, recently reported on the issuance, by Transparency International, of its 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index.

 Citizens feel that their leaders and institutions are not transparent or accountable enough, the 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index finds. “This year we have seen corruption on protesters’ banners be they rich or poor,” Huguette Labelle, chair of Transparency International said. “Whether in a Europe hit by debt crisis or an Arab world starting a new political era, leaders must heed the demands for better government.” (From L4BB, A crisis in governance: Global protests are being fuelled by corruption and economic instability, Transparency International reports, Dec. 2011).

The Index "is the best known of our tools. First launched in 1995, it has been widely credited with putting the issue of corruption on the international policy agenda. The CPI ranks almost 200 countries by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys. " (From Transparency International Surveys and Indices).  

Transparency International, the global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption, brings people together in a powerful worldwide coalition to end the devastating impact of corruption on men, women and children around the world. TI’s mission is to create change towards a world free of corruption. 

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 Transparency International is a global network including more than 90 locally established national chapters and chapters-in-formation. These bodies fight corruption in the national arena in a number of ways. They bring together relevant players from government, civil society, business and the media to promote transparency in elections, in public administration, in procurement and in business. TI’s global network of chapters and contacts also use advocacy campaigns to lobby governments to implement anti-corruption reforms. (From Transparency International, About Us).

The Perceptions Index is important not so much because it captures the actual level of corruption but precisely because it captures perceptions of corruption.  And perception is a key factor in both mass mobilization and decisions of organizations about the form and scope of their engagement in a place.  Corruption, as perception, can affect not only political life but the cost of doing business as well.  To that extent, it directly affects the ability of a state to address issues of development.  As the authors of the Corruption Perceptions Index 2011 put it:

 

The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries according to their perceived levels of public-sector corruption. The 2011 index draws on different assessments and business opinion surveys carried out by independent and reputable institutions. The surveys and assessments used to compile the index include questions relating

to the bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, embezzlement of public funds, and questions that probe the strength and effectiveness of public-sector anti-corruption efforts.

Perceptions are used because corruption – whether frequency or amount – is to a great extent a hidden activity that is difficult to measure. Over time, perceptions have proved to be a reliable estimate of corruption. Measuring scandals, investigations or prosecutions, while offering ‘non-perception’ data, reflect less on the prevalence of corruption in a country and more on other factors, such as freedom of the press or the efficiency of the judicial system. The Corruption Perceptions Index complements Transparency International’s many other tools that measure corruption and integrity in the public and private sectors at global, national and local levels. (From 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index, p. 3)

 

But perceptions of corruption may also indicate the tolerance of a population for corruption.  Yet tolerance for corruption may also signify that the population has abandoned official channels and developed alternative means of social and economic activities. These, in turn, can add to the perception of corruption though they may actually seek to serve as a means of avoiding official or institutional corruption. It is in this context that perception signals a systemic corruption that indicates a severe stress on the legitimacy of the state apparatus and other official institutions.  

But Buddhavarapu V. Rao, the editor of a magazine that had been focusing on governance  in India for almost a year before “Dirty November” – the month in 2010 that saw corruption gain top billing as Public Enemy No.1 — thinks perception about corruption may have overtaken reality.“Most of us have stopped using the system,” he said. “We hear stories from two people and say, ‘Let’s not try this… nothing works. Everything is corrupt.’ That’s overstated.”" (From Tripti Lahiri, In India, ‘Perception of Corruption Greater Than Reality’", India RealTime Blog, Wall Street Journal India, Dec. 12, 2011).

For a useful articles, see Arnold J. Heidenheimer, "Perspectives on the Perception of Corruption," in Corruption:  Concepts and Contexts 141 (Arnold J. Heidenheimer, Michael Johnston eds., New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 3rd ed. 2002)