Costs of Corruption

Even if you don't come into direct contact with corruption, corruption affects you. Corruption reduces the overall wealth in a country, since it can discourage businesses from operating in such a corrupt setting. Corruption also reduces the amount of money the government has available to pay good workers and purchase supplies, such as books, medicine and computers. It distorts the way the government uses its money, too. The result is that schools, health clinics, roads, sewer systems, police forces, and many other services that governments provide are worse than they would otherwise be. In addition, corruption is unfair and allows those with money or connections to bend the law or government rules in their favor. They can pay off judges, for example, or divert scarce drinking water to their land. For these reasons, corruption also harms the environment and undermines trust in government.