Corruption, Development, and Good Governance (George Washington University)

Developed by Dr. Susan Aaronson, this course has the following learning objectives and outcomes.  

Upon completing the course, students will:

·         Understand the roots of corruption and its variants in different cultures;

·         Understand the debate among scholarly disciplines on corruption (e.g. economics, history, etc…)

·         Evaluate how corruption affects and distorts economic growth;

·         Be able to assess global and national strategies to reduce corruption; and

·         Evaluate how technology can facilitate and undermine accountability—“wikileaks anyone?”

 Learning Outcomes:

·        Be able to comprehend both corruption and anticorruption counterweights

·        Understand strategies at the national and international level to combat corruption.

·        Understand how corruption undermines democracy and constrains the voice of the poor. Understand its relationship to the resource curse, trade, and other economic activities.

·        Understand that transparency does not automatically yield accountability.

·        Help students develop comparative evaluation processes and skills essential to citizenship and policy stewardship.

Sample modules and readings are as follows:

Why study corruption:  Who is affected by corruption?

Sample readings: 

1.      K. Elliott (ed.), Corruption and the Global Economy (Washington, D.C.: Peterson Institute for International Economics, 1997), “Introduction”, p. 1-5; S. Rose-Ackerman, “The Political Economy of Corruption” in E. Elliott (ed.), Corruption and the Global Economy, pp. 31-60

2.      J.G. Lambsdorff, “Consequences and Causes of Corruption”, in S. Rose-Ackerman (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Corruption (Cheltenham, U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006)

3.      Foreign Policy (UK), “Bed, Bath & Bribes: IKEA’s struggle to do business in Putin’s Russia”, October 2010 [online] Available at: <http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/08/16/bed_bath_and_bribes?page=0,1>

Trust, institutions, and corruption as rational behaviour

Sample readings:

1.      B. Rothstein & E. M. Uslaner, “All for All: Equality, Corruption and Social Trust”, World Politics 58 (3):41-72, 2005

2.      J. G. Lambsdorff & M. Nell, “Corruption: Where we stand and where to go”, in M. Kreutner (ed.), The Corruption Monster: Ethik, Politik und Korruption (Vienna: 2006)

Openness, international factors and corruption

Sample readings:

1.      W. Sandholtz & M.M. Gray, “International Integration and National Corruption”,   International Organization, 57(4): 761-800, 2003

2.      F. Bonaglia et al., “How Globalisation Improves Governance”, OECD Development Centre Working Paper, no. 181, 2001 [online] Available at: <www.oecd.org/dataoecd/41/48/2675871.pdf>     

3.      N. Charron, “The Impact of Socio-Political Integration and Press Freedom on Corruption”, Journal of Development Studies, 45(9): 1472-1493, 2009

 How corruption can undermine human rights and how anticorruption measures can improve access to opportunities

Sample readings:  

1.      Transparency International, “Human Rights and Corruption”, Transparency International Working Paper, no. 5, 2008 [online] Available at: <http://www.transparency.org/publications/publications/working_papers/

wp_5_2008_human_rights_corruption>     

2.      S. Gupta et al., “Does Corruption Affect Income Inequality and Poverty?”, IMF Working Paper No. 98/76, 1998

3.      R. Reinikka & J. Svensson, “The Returns from Reducing Corruption: Evidence from Education in Uganda,” IIES Working Paper, 2007

Corruption metrics

Sample readings:  

1.      D. Kaufmann & A. Kraay, „Governance Indicators:  Where are We, Where Should We be Going”, World Bank Institute Policy Research Paper 4370, 2008 [online] Available at: <http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/8212/>

2.      C. Arndt & C. Oman, Uses and Abuses of Governance Indicators (OECD Development Centre Studies, 2006) [online] Available at: <http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/21/16/40037762.pdf>

For more information, please see: http://elliott.gwu.edu/faculty/aaronson.cfm