Corruption and poverty: interview with Robert Klitgaard part 1

When there is more corruption there is more poverty. The link, however, is complicated. The poor suffer particularly from all kinds of corruption, which often means they are denied access to basic services rendered unaffordable by corrupt practices.

The Asian Trends Monitoring team spoke to Robert Klitgaard, a globally renowned expert on corruption, about increasing transparency, cleaning up corrupt bureaucracies and convening local level officials to share their experiences in fighting corruption. Even small steps taken by officials or grassroots activists can make a big difference in the lives of the poor as illustrated by the Indian website I Paid a Bribe. As of August 2011 the website users reported over 12,000 cases of bribes paid. Klitgaard points out that the concept has recently been copied by activists and is now used in China.

The interview is broken down into 10 short Segments for your viewing convenience. If you want to watch the interview in one piece you can do so here: Part One and Part Two is coming tomorrow

Q1: Prof. Klitgaard, How would you define corruption?

Q2: How would you describe the link between corruption and poverty?

Q3: To what kind of corruption are the poor most vulnerable?

Q4: There is this perception in Malaysia that corruption is pervasive, sort of institutionalised. How would you go about tackling this kind of corruption?

Q5: What role do anti-corruption measures play in the context of poverty alleviation?

Looking for more answers? Click here for Part Two of the Interview with Robert Klitgaard!

Background info on Robert Klitgaard
Professor Robert Klitgaard joined the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) as the second Li Ka Shing Distinguished Professor. A Professor at Claremont Graduate University in California, where he served as President from 2005-2009, Prof. Klitgaard was previously Dean of the Pardee RAND Graduate School in California. He has been a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Yale School of Management and has advised a variety of governments in Asia, Latin America and Africa. One of his eight books, Tropical Gangsters, was selected by the New York Times as one of its “books of the century.”