Andres Oppenheimer
When I read two separate international rankings released in recent days that measure the world's most bureaucratic and corrupt countries, I was surprised by their coincidences: When it comes to
In both rankings,
Is it a coincidence? Or is there a correlation between a country's red tape and its corruption levels? Before we get to that, let's look at the two rankings.
DOING BUSINESS
It ranks
It's harder to open a business in
If you want to start a business in
Among other Latin American countries where it is a bureaucratic headache to start a business are
Many of these countries also happen to be bad performers in the second ranking,
It lists
Not far away from
Comparatively,
Asked whether there is a link between red tape and corruption levels,
'A CONNECTION'
"There is a connection," Salas told me. "The more legal procedures you have, the more interaction there is between a citizen and a public official, and the more possibilities of a corrupt transaction there are."
He added that one of the most effective tools to fight corruption is e-government, or the use of the Internet to fill out government-required paperwork. "When individuals interact with a computer, you reduce the chances that a government official will require a bribe to speed up the procedure," he said.
"You have to look at the whole forest, and not just at one tree," he said.
"To fight against corruption, you need democracy, a free press, an independent judiciary and an effective police force, which help stem abuses by corrupt politicians."
My opinion: I agree that cutting government red tape alone will not eradicate corruption, especially if you have a political system without checks and balances to help keep the government honest.
But it can't be a coincidence that
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(C) 2010 Andres Oppenheimer