Abstract:
Corruption is a complex problem and there are no easy ways for its solution. Most countries are stuck in corrupt equilibrium with little chance for endogenous change. The internal forces of public pressure, political leadership, free media and anti-corruption institutions as well as external dynamics of coercive, economic and normative leverage of international actors may push for the change. The risk is that corrupt interests may hijack progress and even reverse achievements. I argue that the interplay between various elements of these variables may move the polity away from corrupt equilibrium to a better one as well as control for the spoiler trap. Over the long-term the institutionalization of anti-corruption reform and transforming social norms are important to sustain progress.
