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The theoretical debate of corruption's impact on economic growth remains unsettled, making it an empirical question. This study aims to investigate corruption's effect on BRICS countries' economic growth.

A panel dataset on BRICS countries spanning 1996 to 2020 was used. Bias-corrected estimators in small dynamic panels were employed to estimate a growth model as a linear-quadratic function of corruption that accounts for cross-sectional dependence, endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity due to country and time-specific characteristics.

The results indicate that corruption is detrimental to economic growth in BRICS countries; the quadratic relationship implies corruption is less prevalent in some countries than others. Thus, governments of BRICS countries are encouraged to embark on anti-corruption policies to boost their economic performance.

An important limitation of corruption studies is the difficulty in measuring real corruption experiences due to the secretive nature of corruption and the fact that corruption is known not to leave a paper trail. For the uncertainty of the index estimates, the analysis used a continuous corruption composite score measuring the standard deviation of the extent to which public power is exercised for public gain. Furthermore, estimation and inference are robust to small dynamic panels with a general form of cross-sectional dependence.

Corruption is a major social problem, and scholars have devoted considerable attention to this phenomenon. However, less attention has been paid to how corruption spreads among organizations and what factors can make its spread more likely. This study aims to fill the gap by modelling corruption as an interorganizational contagion.

The authors used social contagion theory to model corruption as an interorganizational contagion, influenced by the susceptibility of organizations and the strength of contagion sources. The study analysed 736 medium and large Italian municipalities over a five-year period, with 3,146 observations (excluding missing data). The authors conducted a longitudinal analysis using panel logistic regression techniques and performed robustness and endogeneity checks through a dynamic panel data model.

The authors found that municipalities with a higher percentage of corrupt neighbouring municipalities were more likely to experience corruption. The probability of experiencing corruption was also significantly higher for municipalities with weaker organizational resistance to corruption contagion.

Previous studies have not clearly explained the organizational mechanisms behind the spread of corruption at the interorganizational level. The study suggests that corruption contagion at the municipal level occurs via reduced uncertainty in decision-makers and is influenced by the prevalence of corruption locally. The spread can be driven by conscious or unconscious mechanisms. This study challenges the idea that corruption contagion is immediate and inevitable. Organizational resistance to corruption can affect the risk of contagion, highlighting the importance of anti-corruption controls and ethical systems in preventing it.

The paper investigates the effect of corruption on corporate investment efficiency around the world.

The sample includes 218,350 observations from 30,074 firms across 42 countries. The authors measure corruption based on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from Transparency International, Corruption Control Index (CCI) from the World Bank and Corruption Index from the International Country Risk Guide.

The authors find that corruption is negatively related to investment efficiency. The robustness checks with different measures of corporate investment and alternative regression approaches show consistent findings. Moreover, the authors also find that the effect of corruption is stronger (weaker) in strong (weak) shareholder protection countries.

The paper has two important contributions to the literature. First, it shows that corruption environment is also a determinant of corporate investment efficiency. Second, legal protection of shareholders can mitigate the negative effect of corruption on corporate investment efficiency.

本研究擬探討世界各地貪污腐敗對企業投資效率的影響。

研究樣本涵蓋42個國家，30,074間公司，218,350個觀察。測量貪污腐敗的方法乃基於國際透明組織的腐敗感知指數、世界銀行的腐敗控制指數和國際國家風險指南的貪污指數。

研究結果顯示、貪污與投資效率成負相關。以企業投資的各種測量方法、以及用其他的回歸分析方法來進行的強度檢驗，均顯示一致的結果。而且，我們亦發現，在對股東的保障較大的國家，貪污所帶來的影響也會較大；同樣地、對股東的保障較小的國家，貪污的影響也相應會較輕微。

本研究對文獻有兩個重要的貢獻。首先，研究證明了貪污腐敗的環境亦是企業投資效率的決定因素；其次，研究亦證明給股東的法律保護會減低貪污對企業投資效率所帶來的負面影響。

This paper attempts to develop a simple, static model of tax administration that is capable of explaining the widespread collusive petty tax administration corruption observed in developing countries.

This paper utilizes a positivist research framework and adopts a theoretical method of analysis, although secondary data will also be mentioned to support theoretical arguments whenever it is appropriate to do so.

A high rate of collusive tax corruption is inevitable in developing countries.

The model is static and needs to be extended into a dynamic model.

Traditional enforcement tools such as higher audits or a higher penalty regime against tax evasion do not work. Tax simplification can lessen the incidence of tax corruption.

Fighting tax corruption requires significant changes in the attitudes of taxpayers and tax auditors.

This paper combines the literature on Kantian economics and tax compliance in an innovative fashion.

The paper aims to examine the impact of social capital on the size of the shadow economy in the BIRCS countries over the period 1995–2014.

The authors employ the Bayesian linear regression method to uncover the relationship between social capital and the shadow economy. The method applies a normal distribution for the prior probability distribution while the posterior distribution is determined using the Markov chain Monte Carlo technique.

The results indicate that the unemployment rate and tax burden positively affect the size of the shadow economy. By contrast, corruption control and trade openness are negatively associated with the development of this informal sector. Moreover, the paper's primary finding is that social capital represented by social trust and tax morale can hinder the size of the shadow economy.

This study is limited to the case of the BRICS countries for the period 1995–2014. The determinants of the shadow economy in different groups of countries can be heterogeneous. Moreover, social capital is a multidimensional concept that may consist of various components. This difficulty of measuring the social capital calls for further research on the relationship between other dimensions of social capital and the shadow economy.

Many studies investigate the effect of economic factors on the size of the shadow economy. This paper applies a new approach to discover the issue. Notably, the authors use the Bayesian linear regression method to analyze the relationship between social capital and the shadow economy in the BRICS countries.

The aim of the paper is to analyse the prevalence of corruption in Malaysia since 2004 in relation to political leadership, implementation of anti-corruption measures and the political and business culture based on money politics.

The paper draws from the information and data provided by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Malaysian government, international organisations, media reports, and academic papers.

The paper analyses the perceived extent of corruption in Malaysia by examining how successive governments have dealt with the problem through a wide range of measures. Corruption remains widespread because of ineffective implementation, a culture of money politics based on mutually beneficial crony associations between political actors and business leaders, political interference to frustrate enforcement against corruption offenders, especially prominent personalities, and the mixed impact of corruption prevention measures. The paper concludes that the political and business culture and the nature of political leadership have eroded the political will to combat grand corruption in Malaysia.

This paper builds on previous research on corruption in Malaysia and highlights the combined negative impact of political leadership and a business and political culture that tolerates and espouses corruption, especially through money politics, and the consequent weak political will for tackling grand corruption.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of corruption on trade.

The authors estimate gravity equations with the last econometric advances on a wide sample of countries and years using three different measures of corruption. Two of them belong to the so-called perception-based indexes and the third is derived from a structural model that takes into account the causes and indicators of corruption across countries.

A negative effect of corruption on trade appears with perceptions, but it is not widespread. However, the authors find sensible evidence of the “grease the wheels” view with the structural index if low and middle income countries are implicated. Additionally, when using this measure, differences in corruption levels negatively impact trade. Both results are in line with expectations.

Moreover, membership in regional trade agreements does not seem to significantly alter these results.

Understanding the interplay between transparency, accountability and e-procurement and their collective contribution to anti-corruption efforts in public procurement is crucial for developing effective strategies and policies. This research seeks to investigate whether e-procurement plays a significant role in enhancing transparency and accountability and subsequently reducing corruption risks in the public pharmaceutical procurement system.

The study employed a cross-sectional questionnaire survey to gather data from 274 procurement personnel and pharmacists working in 28 government-owned hospitals in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. The collected data were then analysed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the Hayes PROCESS macro to test the study hypotheses.

The study findings revealed a negative and significant relationship between transparency and procurement corruption (ß = −0.117, p < 0.008). Moreover, accountability negatively and significantly affects procurement corruption (ß = −0.162, p = 0.006). Furthermore, the findings indicate that, at a high degree of e-procurement system implementation, transparency and accountability have a stronger impact on procurement anti-corruption measures.

Policymakers and decision-makers should implement robust mechanisms that enhance transparency, accountability and anti-corruption efforts. These may include providing clear and accessible information on procurement processes, efficient mechanisms for monitoring and reporting procurement irregularities and continuous improvement of e-procurement systems. By incorporating these measures and nurturing collaboration amongst procurement stakeholders, it becomes possible to foster a procurement environment characterised by integrity, fairness, accountability and reduced corruption.

Whilst previous studies delved into exploring the effect of transparency and accountability on procurement anti-corruption, the novelty of this study is the inclusion of e-procurement as a moderating variable in the relationship between transparency, accountability and anti-corruption. By so doing, this study adds to the existing body of knowledge regarding anti-corruption measures and offers valuable practical insights for policymakers and professionals aiming to enhance transparency, accountability and ethical conduct within the public pharmaceutical procurement system.

This paper analyses the importance of leadership and culture in combating corruption in Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan.

This paper is based on the comparative analysis of the effectiveness of the anti-corruption measures in the studies of six selected countries/regions in this special issue of Public Administration and Policy. The contributors in this special issue were invited because of their publications on combating corruption in the six countries/regions.

The critical variable ensuring the effectiveness of combating corruption is the strong political will of the leadership in changing the culture of corruption in the country/region by implementing a zero-tolerance policy toward corruption, as shown in Singapore and Hong Kong. In New Zealand’s case, leadership plays a less important role because of the population’s emphasis on equality and egalitarianism and its reliance on the Ombudsman and Serious Fraud Office to curb corruption. However, the corrupt leadership of Tanaka Kakuei in Japan, Najib Rajak in Malaysia, and Chen Shui-bian in Taiwan, demonstrates clearly their insidious impact of consolidating their kleptocratic rule in these countries/regions.

As the role of leadership and culture in combating corruption has not been given sufficient attention in the literature, this paper attempts to rectify this neglect by demonstrating that the political leaders in Singapore and Hong Kong, and to a lesser extent, New Zealand, have succeeded in minimising corruption while their counterparts in Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia, have failed to do so.