Corruption: what is it
costing us?

 

Emerald and SDGs
We support the Sustainable Development Goals

Globally, corruption is estimated to cost us around $3.6 trillion a year (according to the World Economic Forum). But corruption also has far reaching consequences for our political and justice systems, our businesses, and for us as individuals.

In this mission, we ask:

  • What are the causes of corruption? Why does it happen?
  • What is the impact of corruption on society, the economy, and individuals?
  • And, crucially, how can corruption be avoided?

If you're a researcher looking to publish a paper in this area, you can browse our full list of journals by subject area or view our latest call for papers to find the perfect home for your research.

Or, better yet, get in touch with us directly using the form at the bottom of this page. We’d love to hear from you!

This mission supports our Responsible management goal

On this page

An introduction to corruption

Find out everything you need to know about the subject of corruption, what the current research covers, and the areas we'd love to see more research from in the future, in this introduction from our goal advisor Dr. Richard Oloruntoba.

Read Richard's article

question 1

What are the causes of corruption? Why does it happen?

Corruption can take many forms. In this section we look at the many areas in which corruption can emerge: from American congress to local police departments, from multinationals like Rolls-Royce to small family business to the entire construction industry. Crucially, we will discover why corruption emerges in these areas and examine the likelihood of it happening again.

Free journal articles

For a limited time only, these articles are free to access.

 
Date published: June 2023

Crypto-asset market development: the role of country’s institutional quality

Authors: Blanka Škrabić Perić, Ana Rimac Smiljanić, and Ivana Jerković, Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism, University of Split, Split, Croatia

Journal of Money Laundering Control

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JMLC-02-2023-0038/full/html
Date published: June 2020

Accounting can support a “sustainable” corruption network: a case analysis

Author: Silvia Pilonato, Department of Economics and Management, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JPBAFM-11-2019-0172/full/ht…
Date published: August 2022

Impact of information system institutionalization on corruption in the Brazilian public health system

Authors: Odirlei Antonio Magnagnagno, Edimara M. Luciano, and Guilherme Wiedenhöft

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/TG-01-2022-0013/full/html
Date published: August 2022

The intersection between ‘The Audit Society’ and public sector corruption and fraud: – a literature review and future research agenda

Authors: Antonio D’Andreamatteo, Giuseppe Grossi, Giorgia Mattei, and Massimo Sargiacomo

open access padlock symbolQualitative Research in Accounting & Management

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/QRAM-01-2022-0012/full/html
Find a journal for your research
question 2

What is the impact of corruption on society, the economy, and individuals?

Why do we care about corruption? How does it affect us? The following articles examine the impact of corruption, not just on our societies and economies but also on us as individuals. We will learn that corruption affects us all, particularly those of us who are most vulnerable in society.

Free journal articles

For a limited time only, these articles are free to access.

 
Date published: February 2022

International mega-corruption Inc.: the structural violence against sustainable development

Author: Frederick Ahen, Department of Marketing and International Business, Turku School of Economics, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

Critical Perspectives on International Business

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/cpoib-04-2018-0035/full/html
Date published: April 2021

From Ebola to COVID-19: what explains institutionalized manias and the ultimate preference for non-optimal solutions in global health governance?

Author: Frederick Ahen, Department of Marketing and International Business, Turku School of Economics, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

Critical Perspectives on International Business

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/cpoib-05-2020-0057/full/html
Date published: March 2022

Corruption, R&D and performance: firm-level evidence from Latin America

Authors: Marco Túlio Dinali Viglioni, Manuel Portugal Ferreira, Carlos Eduardo Stefaniak Aveline, and Juciara Nunes de Alcântara

Journal of Applied Accounting Research

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JAAR-07-2021-0193/full/html
Date published: December 2022

Evaluating the cost of anti-corruption in political and economic terms: a case study approach

Author: Alexandra Hartwig, Department of Politics and International Studies – Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Journal of Financial Crime

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JFC-09-2022-0226/full/html
Date published: May 2020

The impact of corruption on the human security of societies in transition (Iraq case study since 2003)

Author: Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Department of Political Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt and An Expert at the Ministry of Planning in Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq

open access padlock symbol

Review of Economics and Political Science

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/REPS-06-2019-0092/full/html
Date published: September 2021

When disaster management agencies create disaster risk: a case study of the US's Federal Emergency Management Agency

Authors: Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, Lena C. Easton-Calabria, Sonny S. Patel, Jay Balagna, and Leslie A. Payne

Disaster Prevention and Management

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/DPM-03-2021-0067/full/html
Find a journal for your research
question 3

How can we combat corruption and prevent it from happening in the future?

This section examines the current methods used to combat corruption, from sanctions to whistleblowing. How are these methods implemented? And are they effective?

Free journal articles

For a limited time only, these articles are free to access.

 
Date published: June 2020

Deployment of whistleblowing as an accountability mechanism to curb corruption and fraud in a developing democracy

Authors: Oliver Nnamdi Okafor, Festus A. Adebisi, Michael Opara, and Chidinma Blessing Okafor

open access padlock symbolAccounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AAAJ-12-2018-3780/full/html
Date published: May 2022

Fighting corruption in international development: a grounded theory of managing projects within a complex socio-cultural context

Authors: Yanik G. Harnois and Stéphane Gagnon

Journal of Advances in Management Research

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JAMR-06-2021-0195/full/html
Date published: August 2021

Financial expert CEOs, political intervention, and corporate investment decisions: evidence from the anti-corruption campaign

Authors: Hamish D. Anderson, Jing Liao, and Shuai Yue

International Journal of Managerial Finance

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJMF-12-2020-0622/full/html
Find a journal for your research

Featured journals

Find out more about the journals we've used to select articles for this page. You can also search for a specific journal by subject area on our find a journal page.

If you want to publish your research in one of our journals, please get in touch.

Free policy document

How to deal with corruption if you want your economy to grow

Authors: Stijn Kuipers and Veerle Verhey

Corruption is widely considered as one of the primary restrictors of economic growth. Anti-corruption therefore often takes top priority in development policy. Sadly, most anti-corruption efforts fail. In this policy brief, the authors explain why an overt focus on eradicating corruption is misguided.

Read the policy

Featured blogs & opinion pieces

Our author community have much to say on the topic of corruption. Check out some of our latest blogs and opinion pieces below.

Please note, the opinions expressed in these publications are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Emerald Publishing or its employees.

 

Fighting corruption in a globalised world

Grant W Walton photo

Author: Grant W Walton, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University

Grant examines corruption from a global stand point, arguing that in order to fight corruption, we have to look beyond the boundaries of states and nations.

/opinion-and-blog/fighting-corruption-a-globalised-world

Can anyone be in favour of corruption?

Stijn Kuipers photo

Author: Stijn Kuipers, Diplomat in Training at the Clingendael Institute, and graduate of the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge

Stijn looks at the effects of corruption on the economic growth of developing countries.

https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/opinion-and-blog/can-anyone-be-favour-co…

Western accountability in the global anti-corruption dynamic

Alexandra Hartwig photo

Author: Alexandra Hartwig, Masters graduate of Philosophy in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge

Alexandra looks back at her article, 'Evaluating the cost of anti-corruption in political and economic terms: a case study approach', to see how Namibia's largest corruption scandal has evolved.

https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/opinion-and-blog/western-accountability-…

Scandal and corruption in Congress

Michael Pomante photo

Author: Michael Pomante, assistant professor of political science at Jacksonville University

Michael reflects on his book Scandal and Corruption in Congress and what has happened since the book published in 2022. Have things changed for the better? Or are things worse than ever?

https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/opinion-and-blog/scandal-and-corruption-…

Corruption

Adam Graycar photo

Author: Adam Graycar, Professor of Public Policy at the University of Adelaide

Adam looks back at his extensive work on corruption and public policy, and analyses the driving forces behind corruption and the anti-corruption methods of today.

https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/opinion-and-blog/corruption

If you have an article, blog, or opinion piece you’d like to share on the subject of corruption, or on any of our other mission topics, please get in touch.

Contact us

Related books

Visit our online bookstore to see all our latest publications.

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Got a book proposal? Submit it here

Free book chapters

For a limited time only, these chapters are free access. The full books can be purchased from our bookstore.

Browse our bookstore

Want advice on preparing or submitting your manuscript? Check out our author guidelines for books and book series.

Date published: July 2023

Introduction: Organizational Wrongdoing as the “Foundational” Grand Challenge: Definitions and Antecedents

Author: Claudia Gabbioneta, Marco Clemente, and Royston Greenwood

Published in: Organizational Wrongdoing as the "Foundational" Grand Challenge: Definitions and Antecedents

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/S0733-558X20230000084013/fu…
Date published: July 2023

Organizational Wrongdoing, Boundary Work, and Systems of Exclusion: The Case of the Volkswagen Emissions Scandal

Author: Laura Fey and John Amis

Published in: Organizational Wrongdoing as the "Foundational" Grand Challenge: Definitions and Antecedents

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/S0733-558X20230000084009/fu…
Date published: July 2023

I Report if They Report: The Role of Media in Whistleblowing Intentions on Fraud and Corruption

Author: Sebastian Oelrich

Published in: Organizational Wrongdoing as the “Foundational” Grand Challenge: Consequences and Impact

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/S0733-558X20230000085006/fu…
Date published: November 2020

Corruption Reduction as a Target of the Sustainable Development Goals: Applying Indicators and Policy Frameworks

Author: Kempe Ronald Hope Sr.

Published in: The Emerald Handbook of Crime, Justice and Sustainable Development

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/978-1-78769-355-520201009/f…
Previous mission

Trust: how is it built, and how is it broken?

Once trust is broken, it can be very difficult to repair. Here we look at how vulnerable trust is within organisations and ask a number of questions.

More on this mission

View all our previous missions on our responsible management page

Subject pages

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If you would like to contribute to this page, or you are working on research related to corruption and responsible management and would like to publish it in a journal, please let us know by filling in this form and we’ll get right back to you.

 

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