Measuring Corruption

Abstract

Measuring corruption is difficult, and this chapter begins by explaining how the secretive and consensual nature of corruption tends to put it outside conventional crime statistics. Nonetheless, attempting to measure corruption is important, not least for the design and evaluation of anti-corruption measures. The chapter sets out a wide range of useful indicators, including public experience and perception surveys, employee and supplier surveys, focus groups and media reports, complaints and allegations, and prosecutions and convictions. Another approach involves risk-based analyses of institutions and sectors to assess their vulnerability to corruption. Each of these methods has particular advantages and limitations, but the greater the array of indicators employed the clearer the picture of corruption dimensions and trends.