Corruption

What is corruption? There are several answers to this question. The most popular and simplest definition of corruption is that it is the abuse of public power for private benefit . This is the definition used by the World Bank. From this definition it should not be concluded that corruption cannot exist within private sector activities. In several cases of corruption, the abuse of public power is not necessarily for one’s private benefit but it can be for the benefit of one’s party, class, tribe, friends, family, and so on. In fact, in many countries some of the proceeds of corruption go to finance the political parties.
Analytically speaking, the most promising answer is the one made by Vito Tanzi: “Corruption is the intentional non-compliance with the arm’s-length principle aimed at deriving some advantage for oneself.”