2,210 research outputs found

    On the Impact of Digital Technologies on Corruption: Evidence from U.S. States and Across Countries

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    We hypothesize that the spread of the Internet has reduced corruption, chiefly through two mechanisms. First, the Internet facilitates the dissemination of information about corrupt behavior, which raises the detection risks to shady bureaucrats and politicians. Second, the Internet has reduced the interface between bureaucrats and the public. Using cross-country data and data for the U.S. states, we test this hypothesis. Data spans the period during which the Internet has been in operation. In order to address the potential endogeneity problem, we develop a novel identification strategy for Internet diffusion. Digital equipment is highly sensitive to power disruption: it leads to equipment failure and damage. Even very short disruptions (less than 1/60th of a second) can have such consequences. Accordingly, more frequent power failures will increase the user cost of IT capital; either directly, through depreciation, or indirectly, through the costs of protective devises. Ceteris paribus, we expect that higher IT user costs will lower the speed of Internet diffusion. A natural phenomenon which causes a major part of annual power disruptions globally is lightning activity. Lightning therefore provides exogenous variation in the user cost of IT capital. Based on global satellite data from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), we construct lightning density data for a large cross section of countries and for the U.S. states. We demonstrate that the lightning density variable is a strong instrument for changes in Internet penetration; and we proceed to show that the spread of the Internet has reduced the extent of corruption across the globe and across the U.S. The size of the impact is economically and statistically significant.public corruption; internet; information

    Are Managers’ Perceptions of Constraints to Growth Reliable? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in South Africa

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    Can surveys of what managers see as the biggest problems that their firm faces provide useful information on the main constraints to private sector and economic development and be used to prioritize reforms in these areas? One of many concerns about doing this is that managers’ responses to questions about specific areas of the investment climate might reflect their assessment of overall investment climate or their overall business confidence rather than their views on that specific area of the investment climate. This paper uses a natural experiment in South Africa to assess whether this is the case. When the World Bank’s 2007-2008 Enterprise Survey was being carried out, a major electricity crisis hit South Africa. The crisis resulted in many more managers saying that power was a serious constraint on enterprise operations—the share rose from about 10 percent of managers before the crisis to close to 50 percent after the crisis. But it also resulted in greater concern about most other areas of the investment climate—including areas such as taxation, regulation, and other areas of infrastructure that were unrelated to the crisis. This suggests that managers do not fully compartmentalize their responses. Moreover, the changes were large enough to suggest that cross-time and cross-country comparisons of perception data will be difficult.Subjective Data; Firm-level Data; Perceptions; South Africa

    Factors influencing the development and reform of the upstream oil and gas fiscal systems in the UK and Nigeria – a comparative study

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    The development and reform of petroleum fiscal systems is governed by many of the principles relevant to taxes on all other types of business. However, there is the additional issue of the capture of economic rent. The study considers how far the principles of good petroleum fiscal system design have been applied to the particular oil and gas industries of the UK and of Nigeria from the 1960s to the present day. The study examines the factors which have influenced the development of each country’s system

    Social Order and the Culture of Corruption in India

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    Corruption is rampant in India and is prevalent in every sector of the Indian society. The purpose of this paper is to discuss selected cases to understand the widespread corruption that occurs in various sectors of the society such as academia, business, banking, law enforcement and other everyday services. This paper will address how the social order contributes to these corrupt practices, and tries to shed some light on how corrupt practices have been socially accepted and have become an unavoidable norm in many cases. The paper also studies the structures that exist and aide in augmenting corruption in India and how corruption affects the Indian economy. Further, this paper briefly examines the Indian laws and regulations, actions taken by the Indian government to eliminate or control corruption, its consequences on the society, reasons for the lack of strict implementation of these laws, the lack of financial transparency, and how the organizational makeup of the Indian society makes it easier to continue such illegal practices

    Democracy, rule of law, corruption incentives and growth

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    We bridge the gap between the standard theory of growth and the mostly static theory of corruption. Some public investment can be diverted from its purpose by corrupt individuals. Voters determine the level of public investment subject to an incentive constraint equalizing the returns from productive and corrupt activities. We concentrate on two exogenous institutional parameters : the “technology of corruption” is the ease with which rent-seekers can capture a proportion of public spending. The “concentration of political power” is the extent to which rent-seekers have more political influence than other people. One theoretical prediction is that the effects of the two institutional parameters on income growth and equilibrium corruption are different according to the constraints that are binding at equilibrium. In particular, the effect of judicial quality on growth should be stronger when political power is concentrated. We estimate a system of equations where both corruption and incime growth are determined simultaneously and show that income growth is more affected by our proxies for legal and politiccal institutions in countries where political rights and judicial institutions respectively are limited.economic growth, corruption, rule of law, incentive constraint, political power

    Social and governance dimensions of climate change : implications for policy

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    This paper addresses two vital concerns in the debate on adaptation to climate change. First, how can countries prepare to manage the impact of climate-change induced natural disasters? Second, how can countries ensure that they have the governmental institutions required to manage the phenomenal challenge of adaptation to climate change? A range of economic and institutional measures are tested for their potential effects on natural disaster resilience and the quality of environmental governance. The findings suggest an important role is played by social and political institutions in determining the ability of countries to adapt to climate change and respond to natural disasters, in particular in the degree to which countries have succeeded in gender empowerment and the development of a robust civil society and nonprofit sector. As the climate change challenge moves from that of"proving the facts"to that of"implementing change,"the authors suggest that international policymakers, donors, and activists must increasingly focus on building domestic policy environments that are conducive to the delivery of more effective environmental legislation, for example through implementation of gender quotas and provision of support to civil society groups.Environmental Economics&Policies,Population Policies,Natural Disasters,Governance Indicators,Hazard Risk Management

    Accessibility of E-government Services for Persons with Disabilities in Developing Countries- The Case of Ghana

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    Several benefits have been attributed to E-government, including the potential to promote independence and belongingness for persons with disabilities (PWD) by enhancing participatory and inclusive governance. Hitherto, government services that required several and long journeys followed by long queues waiting for service at government offices can now be accessed online irrespective of the geographical location via E-government services. As a result, developing countries like Ghana continue to commit resources to the implementation of E-government to harness the associated benefits. Accessibility has been acknowledged, by both practitioners and those in academia, as a key consideration to prevent disparities among citizens which may put PWD at risk of exclusion. However, providing solutions to accessibility challenges for PWD has consistently proven difficult in most E-government implementation projects in developing countries. Therefore, this study investigates the accessibility of Egovernment services for PWD in Ghana with the aim of identifying how key E-government stakeholders perceive accessibility and the contextual drivers that lead to the exclusion of PWD in the development of E-government services. Also, this study seeks to understand if and how these stakeholders and contextual drivers reinforce the exclusionary process. The study employed an interpretive, inductive approach, with sensitising concepts from Egovernment accessibility literature, and the social exclusion framework. Multiple data collection methods were used, namely; observations as a preliminary step to obtaining a better understanding of how the visually impaired use ICTs; interviews as the primary data collection technique from 37 participants; and document analysis. The study involved 3 groups of participants: the visually impaired, E-government web developers and government officers. Data analysis was carried out in two phases- firstly thematic analysis was used to report on perceptions of government officers and developers on accessibility and the experiences of PWD. Contextual drivers impeding accessibility and affecting accessibility experience of PWD were also derived from the thematic analysis. Secondly, E-government and disability policy documents mentioned in interview discussions were analysed using content analysis. The findings of the content analysis were used to validate, clarify and to conduct post-interview checking. The findings show that government officers and developers play a key role in the development of E-government services. Whilst Government officers and developers were identified as powerful agents whose practices determined the accessibility of services that were developed; PWD were side-lined and not involved in the E-government development project. Also, perceptions of government officers and developers on accessibility vary from those of PWD. While government officers and developers believe that with little assistance from third parties PWD can access E-government services, PWD perceive accessibility should offer them the independence to retrieve government information and engage in electronic transactions of their choice. Evidently, accessibility perceptions of E-government implementers differ from that of PWD. Further, the findings show that exclusion of PWD from E-government services is as a result of the intertwining of several contextual drivers, including political, socio-cultural, technological and personal. Political, socio-cultural and technological drivers influence the perceptions and practices of government officers and developers and determine their responses to the accessibility needs of PWD. Personal drivers limit the capabilities of PWD to access Egovernment services and impact on their accessibility experiences. Contextual drivers independently facilitate the exclusion of PWD; however, their interactions with government officers and developers shape their perceptions and constitute crucial exclusionary forces. These exclusionary forces when fed into the development of E-government services reinforce the exclusion of PWD. Given that personal drivers limit the capabilities of PWD, their inabilities to act as change agents reinforce their exclusion. Moreover, power differentials among stakeholders play a vital role in the exclusionary process. The study contributes to better understanding of influences on the E-government development process, how services become inaccessible and the accessibility challenges PWD face. Practically, the study has several implications on the development and implementation of E-government services in developing countries like Ghana. For example, the findings are useful to inform the political leadership on policies and structures to put in place to enhance the accessibility of Egovernment services for PWD

    Red-Flag Laws, Civilian Firearms Ownership and Measures of Freedom

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    This essay provides context for an assessment of a part of the recently-enacted Bipartisan Safer Communities Act--federal legislation funding state red-flag procedures, which allow for seizures of firearms from persons who have not committed crimes. First, it assesses Maryland’s experience during the first year of implementing these procedures. The essay details computations, extrapolating from Maryland’s first-year experience, showing that adoption of these statutes causes blameless persons to be subject to being killed by the government at a rate comparable to or in excess of the murder rate. Second, the essay identifies an overlooked impact of this federal legislation. The legislation’s adoption will necessitate courts more favorably consider firearms rights reinstatement petitions filed by criminals with old convictions. That is because Congressional adoption of this legislation is inconsistent with the strongest premise on which courts have heretofore rejected those claims--that courts are not competent to assess whether individuals have a heightened propensity to commit firearms crimes. Third, politicians admit adoption of the federal statute was a response to calls to “just do something.” As this essay reveals, the resulting legislative spasm arose in the context of public discourse that selectively deemphasizes events highlighting the harms arising from adoption of red-flag laws. Ultimately, of course, the constitutionality the legislative response will be subject to judicial review. Yet concerns that constitutional principles will yield to public pressure are as old as the country itself. James Madison in fact expressed some equivocation as to the desirability of a bill of rights on that basis. In a paragraph of McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742, 783 (2010), referenced in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 142 S. Ct. 2111, 2126 n.3 (2022), the Supreme Court noted an absence of authority in which the Court has “refrained from holding that a provision of the Bill of Rights is binding on the States on the ground that the right at issue has disputed public safety implications.” Indeed, living in a society that respects civil rights involves risks that are eliminated by a police state. Because federal funding of red-flag laws has been triggered by selective public discourse, it is desirable to illuminate, as a counterweight, the salient benefits of the constitutional provision that has been duly adopted and ought to obtain. This essay turns to one approach that may increase the salience of information relevant to contextualizing the judicial inquiry: that the benefits are capable of quantification. This essay expands on the empirical evidence in the law review literature finding a statistically significant relationship between civilian firearms ownership and indices of freedom—higher civilian firearms ownership in a country is associated with greater freedom
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