Corruption has advantages. According to a study by Francisco Úbeda, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Tennessee (USA), corruption plays a key role in maintaining social cooperation . Using game theory, Úbeda looked for what leads individuals to collaborate even in corrupt societies. And he developed a model that reveals that the powers that apply the law are often corrupt because they consider themselves “above the law”, but that despite this, society continues to cooperate and behave in a correct way to avoid punishment. Without the forces of law, he adds, individuals would have less incentive to cooperate; and without power and corruption, those in power would not have sufficient incentives to carry out their work. This explains, he assures, why corrupt behaviors are also observed among social insects .
Corruption and earthquakes. Over the past three decades, 83 percent of all earthquake deaths have occurred in poor countries that are more corrupt than expected considering their per capita income levels, according to a study by Imperial College London. ) published in the journal Nature . The analysis shows that dishonest practices in the construction industry, including the use of poor quality materials and the inappropriate siting of buildings, increase the number of victims in major earthquakes in these places.
Women less corrupt. Women are often more likely to disapprove of political corruption, according to a study by Justin Esarey, a researcher at Rice University. However, this only applies to democratic governments: in autocracies, says Esarey, men and women are just as corrupt.
Worldwide
This year’s Corruption Perceptions Index produced by Transparency International highlights that most countries are making little or no progress in ending corruption, while a more detailed analysis shows that journalists and activists in corrupt countries are putting their money at risk. lives every day in an effort to report it.
The index, which classifies 180 countries and territories according to perceived levels of corruption in the public sector according to experts and businessmen, uses a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very legal. This year, the index found that more than two-thirds of countries score below 50, with an average score of 43. Unfortunately, compared to recent years, this poor performance is nothing new.
This year, New Zealand and Denmark are in first place with scores of 89 and 88 respectively. Syria, South Sudan, and Somalia rank lowest with scores of 14, 12, and 9 respectively. The best performing region is Western Europe with an average score of 66. The worst performing regions are Sub-Saharan Africa (average score 32) and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (average score 34). Spain has a score of 57 (position 42 out of 180).
