Corruption in India

by

Sujay Ghosh

• LAST MODIFIED: 17 April 2025
• DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756223-0378

Introduction

Corruption is a multifaceted and extremely complex problem that affects most of the developing world, as well as many developed countries. Strangely, corruption defies the spirit of democracy, yet it is found in many democracies. India, for instance, is known to be the world’s largest democracy, yet it suffers from a high degree of corruption. This annotated bibliography is designed to present suitable references before interested scholars on the various aspects of corruption in India. It is organized along nine broad sections. The first section, The Conceptual and Cognate Issues around Corruption, seeks to introduce the readers to the key literature on general understandings about the concepts and related dimensions of corruption, thus clearly identifying the centrality of politics vis-à-vis corruption in the developing world. This theme is necessary because the works cited here seek to comprehend the multifaceted nature of corruption. The second section, Democratic Mechanisms against Corruption, introduces some concrete mechanisms necessary for democracy to counteract corruption. While discussing these, this section, however, deliberately omits mentioning the reports and publications of Transparency International, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and similar international organizations, which have significantly contributed to advance our understanding of corruption. They have been referred to the works mentioned in this bibliography. The third section, Understanding Politics, Society, and Development in Contemporary India, presents an overview of the literature on Indian politics, society, and economy in contemporary times. The suggested references are a useful minimum, from the vast pool of literature available—they may thus be considered as starting points for studying the broader context of corruption in India. The fourth section, Government and Corruption in India, surveys literature on the role of government in tackling the problem of corruption in India—where government is seen as the prime actor in dealing with the corrupt process. The fifth section, Corruption in Rural India, extends the discussion with a particular focus on where most of the people in India live—the rural areas. The sixth section, Corruption beyond Government, addresses literature on the actors and factors—such as media, the business sector, but not excluding the government—also responsible for perpetuating corruption in India. The seventh section, Corruption and the Administrative Dimensions, informs about various administrative dimensions related to corruption, involving both the governmental and extra-governmental actors. The eighth section, Democratic Interrogation of Corruption in India, introduces the scholarly works where democracy has articulated concerns against corruption. The final section, Anticorruption Politics and Processes in India, surveys literature that discusses and assesses various proposed or adopted measures to counter corruption.

The Conceptual and Cognate Issues around Corruption

The key scholarly works mentioned in this section are intended to introduce readers to the way corruption is understood in contemporary social sciences. One shall find here that corruption, particularly in developing countries, has strong political dimensions. However, one must first have an understanding of the concept. Though arranged alphabetically by author, I shall follow a different logical order to introduce the theme: first it refers to the articles that explain the concept, and then those that identify the issues cognate to corruption. Kurer 2005 sheds light on the fundamental concept of corruption: it implicitly relates various governmental spheres to corruption. Warren 2004 extends that concept to a broader domain—beyond the state actors, such as civil society and market—and clearly explains how corruption affects democracy, portraying it as involving both governmental and extra-governmental dimensions. Bardhan and Mookherjee 2005 finds that a valued attribute of democratic governance, decentralization, fails to check corruption in the case of public service delivery. Philp 1997 illuminates how political corruption affects conflict resolution. Johnston 1998 points out the economic and political factors behind corruption in developing countries and advocates for people’s social empowerment as a counter-corruption measure. Rose-Ackermann and Palfka 2016 is a virtual handbook, pointing out the various dimensions of corruption, and particularly emphasizing the role of government. Rothstein and Varraich 2017 also accords primary responsibility to government to eradicate corruption. Clinard 1990 is probably among the first texts on corporate/business corruption. Barrington, et al. 2022 updates the discussion with a deeper survey on the issue. Dávid-Barrett 2023 provides an overview of kleptocracy and state capture. Among the issues cognate to anticorruption measures, Rothstein 2011 presents the “Quality of Government” approach as a means to counteract corruption. By contrast, Johnston 2014 is a classic work that charts the democratic pathways for countering corruption. Mungiu-Pippidi 2015 identifies particularism as an impediment to, and ethical universalism as a facilitator for, countering corruption.

• Bardhan, Pranab, and Dilip Mookherjee. “Decentralizing Antipoverty Program Delivery in Developing Countries.” Journal of Public Economics 89.4 (2005): 675–704.

  DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2003.01.001

  The article acknowledges decentralization to be an agenda of democratic governance, yet it exacerbates corruption in public service delivery at local levels, due to somewhat ineffective electoral processes, a lower level of political consciousness, and, above all, pressure from the local elites, who are politically organized and financially powerful enough to capture the benefits.

• Barrington, Robert, Elizabeth Dávid-Barrett, Sam Power, and Dan Hough. Understanding Corruption: How Corruption Works in Practice. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Agenda, 2022.

  DOI: 10.2307/j.ctv2b6z856

  This multiauthored collection, accompanied by a number of suitable case studies and illustrations, sketch the landscape of corruption at a global level, where politicians, business groups, and criminal activities are deeply entangled. Particular attention is paid to corporate bribery, exerting influences at policymaking levels, various dimensions of state capture by political elites, and corrupt capital arising from illicit flow of money.

• Clinard, Marshall B. Corporate Corruption: The Abuse of Power. New York: Praeger, 1990.

  Probably a first book of this kind, and the issues highlighted are still valid. While recognizing the necessity of business for generating prosperity, Clinard identifies many areas where corporate greed significantly affects socio-human well-being: corporate bribery, violence, environmental damages, deliberate manufacturing of substandard products, and exploiting the Third World. Given the government’s limitations, it is necessary to inculcate responsible cultural ethos and promote wider media coverage, whistleblowers’ protection, and severe penalties for controlling corporate corruption.

• Dávid-Barrett, Elizabeth. “State Capture and Development: A Conceptual Framework.” Journal of International Relations and Development 26.2 (2023): 224–244.

  DOI: 10.1057/s41268-023-00290-6

  “State capture” means a small group of elites, known as kleptocrats, being capable of influencing the formulation and implementation of state policies to their advantage, as well as undermining the institutions of accountability and regulation. Kleptocrats target the media, civil service, elections, repressive apparatus, economic assets, and the legislative process. This exacerbates poverty, widespread inequality, consequent clientelism, and the transfer of corrupt proceeds offshore.

• Johnston, Michael. “Fighting Systemic Corruption: Social Foundations for Institutional Reform.” European Journal of Development Research 10.1 (1998): 85–104.

  DOI: 10.1080/09578819808426703

  Corruption in developing countries flourishes mostly in closed economic and political systems. Factors like long economic stagnation, rigged elections, and monopoly of power sustain corruption. Anticorruption activism aiming for institutional reforms faces opposition from the vested interests, their own indecisiveness, and disorganized popular support. Social empowerment, the expansion of political and economic opportunities, and appropriate institutional reforms may counteract corruption.

• Johnston, Michael. Corruption, Contention, and Reform: The Power of Deep Democratization. Cambridge, UK, and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014.

  The book comprehensively charts the democratic pathways toward countering corruption; citing the Indian example, Johnston claims that formal democracy, lacking systematic economic institutions, is too inadequate in countering corruption. In developing countries, corruption is more a political than an administrative problem. Anticorruption strategies, instead of being too radical, need to strengthen context-specific democratic spaces: deep democratization characterized by plurality, accountability, safe political and economic space, and opportunities for reform activism.

• Kurer, Oskar. “Corruption: An Alternative Approach to Its Definition and Measurement.” Political Studies 53.1 (2005): 222–239.

  DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9248.2005.00525.x

  This article defines corruption as the violation of “non-discrimination norms” by public officeholders for personal gains. It explains the complexities of the term “non-discrimination” adequately, and also introduces us to some of the adjacent concepts, such as legislative and administrative corruption, with sufficient details.

• Mungiu-Pippidi, Alina. The Quest for Good Governance: How Societies Develop Control over Corruption. Cambridge, UK, and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015.

  DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781316286937

  Corruption is understood as deviation from the norms of integrity. In many developing countries, where many people consider the bureaucracy to be corrupt, universal franchise has been instituted before the necessary socio-institutional context, supposed to create the appropriate socialization has to take root. In addition, the growth of government-sponsored socioeconomic activities and particularism has sustained corruption. The solution lies in ethical universalism—certain values that are universally applicable: fairness, honesty, collective action, and civic culture.

• Philp, Mark. “Defining Political Corruption.” Political Studies 45.3 (1997): 436–462.

  DOI: 10.1111/1467-9248.00090

  Normatively, political authority appeals to common good, public authority, and public welfare: it protects individual rights, organizes public opinion, and forestalls conflict and disorder. Unlike incompetence, political corruption deliberately undermines the possibilities of effective political solutions to conflict, thus threatening the moral underpinnings of political authority.

• Rose-Ackermann, Susan, and Bonnie J. Palfka. Corruption and Government: Causes, Consequences, and Reform. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016.

  DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781139962933

  This fifteen-chapter seminal volume, with the lead author having worked on the subject for nearly five decades, is a virtual handbook on corruption. Rich with information and data, the book extensively introduces the reader to various aspects of corruption—causes, consequences, and possible remedies—where government certainly occupies the key role, but is not the only actor in factoring corruption.

• Rothstein, Bo. The Quality of Government: Corruption, Social Trust, and Inequality in International Perspective. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011.

  DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226729589.001.0001

  Quality of Government (QoG) is broadly based on the principles of political equality and impartial administration of rule and policies. It is particularly important, because governments lacking quality exacerbate corruption and inequality and undermines social trust, which adversely affects the social and policymaking levels. Democracy is not necessarily aligned with QoG: with a nested comparative study between democratic Jamaica and authoritarian Singapore, Rothstein argues that QoG certainly reduces corruption and secures a much better quality of life.

• Rothstein, Bo, and Aishya Varraich. Making Sense of Corruption. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2017.

  DOI: 10.1017/9781316681596

  With a survey of published articles, the book claims that corruption started receiving importance in academic social sciences in the mid-1990s. It posits a central role for government, and argues that the quality of government, which upholds justice, political equality, and people’s access to government, is crucial in countering corruption.

• Warren, Mark E. “What Does Corruption Mean in a Democracy?” American Journal of Political Science 48.2 (2004): 328–343.

  DOI: 10.2307/1519886

  One finds an expanded notion here, where beyond the state institutions and government, corruption can also be found in other domains of the public sphere, such as market and civil society. In public domains, citizens are supposed to validate collective decisions, but corruption in these spheres enables a few elites to exclude most of the people from collective decision-making.