The Scientific Reliability of International Corruption Rankings

Abstract

Owing to its hiding nature, corruption is difficult to measure. However, measurements lacking sufficient methodological grounds and the rankings so created pose just as much of economic risk as the corruption itself. The objective of the present study is to examine the methodological compliance of the calculation of the most well-known corruption perceptions index after having reviewed the specific literature and by using the method of document analysis. The most important criticisms formed against corruption measures in the international specific literature also highlight that in the most cases the independence of the organizations issuing the corruption measures, the transparency of data sources used and the applied methodology are not ensured. It follows from all of the above, and due to improper compilation of the respondent group and the inadequacies of the summary of the data sources-in the absence of methodological substantiation-the results are not suitable for comparing the countries, to draw scientific conclusions, and they do not even make a diagnosis related to the phenomenon examined which could serves as an efficient tool for making the appropriate policy decisions.

Corruption and Financial Development : Evidence from Eastern Europe and Central Asia Countries

“…since 1995, Transparency International has been annually publishing the results of the corruption Perception Index, which has been established to measure corruption perception. The composite index of the cPI is calculated using 13 data sources, which include both directly available data sources and only commercially available data sources (Németh et al, 2019).…”

“…There are difficulties in measuring against the necessity of measuring. After that, corruption measurement approaches developed as perception-based, experiencebased, external (expert) evaluations and administrative (Németh et al, 2019).…”

“…Their findings suggest that corruption exerts a positive impact on bank stability. Németh et al (2019) aim is to examine the methodological relevance of the best-known corruption perception index calculation. They pointed out that although cPI contains very detailed indicators in the composite index, The cPI does not use tools to objectively measure corruption risks and controls and does not examine the regulatory environment and institutional system responsible for reducing corruption.…”

“…The corruption Perception Index of Transparency International is unarguably the most successful product concerning the measurement of cooruption perception. According to the cPI, the results achieved by any country so far are announced to the public together with the GDP growth rate or the amount of direct investment (Németh et al, 2019).…”

The Impact of the Institutional Factors in the Public Sphere on Export in OECD Countries

“…This finding in our study is similar to that found in the studies of iwanow and Kirkpatrick. Németh et al (2019), in some studies such as, attention is drawn to the issue of the reliability of indices measuring corruption. in these studies, it is emphasized that corruption indexes may not reflect the truth.…”