Labeling a person, institution or particular behavior as "corrupt" signals both political and moral disapproval and, in a functioning democracy, should stimulate inquiry, discussion, and, if the charge is well-founded, reform. This book argues, in a set of closely related chapters, that the political community and scholars alike have underestimated the extent of corruption in the United States and elsewhere and thus, awareness of wrong-doing is limited and discussion of necessary reform is stunted. In fact, there is a class of behaviors and institutions that are legal, but corrupt. They are accepted as legitimate by statute and practice, but they inflict very real social, economic, and political damage. This book explains why it is important to identify legally accepted corruption and provides a series of examples of corruption using this perspective.

Labeling a person, institution or particular behavior as "corrupt" signals both political and moral disapproval and, in a functioning democracy, should stimulate inquiry, discussion, and, if the charge is well-founded, reform. This book argues, in a set of closely related chapters, that the political community and scholars alike have underestimated the extent of corruption in the United States and elsewhere and thus, awareness of wrong-doing is limited and discussion of necessary reform is stunted. In fact, there is a class of behaviors and institutions that are legal, but corrupt. They are accepted as legitimate by statute and practice, but they inflict very real social, economic, and political damage. This book explains why it is important to identify legally accepted corruption and provides a series of examples of corruption using this perspective.

Corruption in politics and public administration is pervasive and difficult to eliminate. It has a strong effect on public attitudes toward government and is at the same time badly understood. A clear, comprehensive understanding of corruption is critical to the goal of ethical government that is trusted by the public. In this short and accessible text, Staffan Andersson and Frank Anechiarico demonstrate how the dynamics of life in organizations both generate corruption and make it difficult to prevent without undermining the effectiveness of government. They argue that how we define corruption, how we measure it, and how we try to combat it are strongly interrelated and should not be seen as separate issues. The authors demonstrate how this integrated approach, together with a focus on the damage caused by corruption to civic inclusivity and participation, can serve as an entry point for understanding the quality of democracy and the challenge of good governance. Using examples from mainly the United States and Sweden, Andersson and Anechiarico establish that recent anti-corruption reforms in public administration have often been narrowly focused on bribery (exchange corruption) and law enforcement approaches, while doing too little to other problems and forms of corruption, such as interest conflict. Corruption and Corruption Control: Democracy in the Balance will be of great interest to all students of politics, public administration and management, and ethics.

Anticorruption reforms provide excellent political cover for public officials, but do they really reduce corruption? And do the benefits outweigh the costs? In this comprehensive and controversial case study of anticorruption efforts, Frank Anechiarico and James B. Jacobs show how the proliferating regulations and oversight mechanisms designed to prevent or root out corruption seriously undermine our ability to govern. Using anticorruption efforts in New York City to illustrate their argument, Anechiarico and Jacobs demonstrate the costly inefficiencies of pursuing absolute integrity. By proliferating dysfunctions, constraining decision makers' discretion, shaping priorities, and causing delays, corruption control - no less than corruption itself - has contributed to the contemporary crisis in public administration. This book begins a new and vital discourse on how to free public administration from burdensome corruption controls without sacrificing government integrity. It will interest scholars in political science, sociology, public administration, policy studies, and criminology.

Anticorruption reforms provide excellent political cover for public officials, but do they really reduce corruption? And do the benefits outweigh the costs? In this comprehensive and controversial case study of anticorruption efforts, Frank Anechiarico and James B. Jacobs show how the proliferating regulations and oversight mechanisms designed to prevent or root out corruption seriously undermine our ability to govern. Using anticorruption efforts in New York City to illustrate their argument, Anechiarico and Jacobs demonstrate the costly inefficiencies of pursuing absolute integrity. By proliferating dysfunctions, constraining decision makers' discretion, shaping priorities, and causing delays, corruption control - no less than corruption itself - has contributed to the contemporary crisis in public administration. This book begins a new and vital discourse on how to free public administration from burdensome corruption controls without sacrificing government integrity. It will interest scholars in political science, sociology, public administration, policy studies, and criminology.