Corruption in the Arab World @JeedM

Corruption Forms Corruption Perception Index Bribe Payers Index The Effects of Corruption on the Economy

CPI (Corruption Perception Index) CPI is a measurement tool used by experts in the fields of corruption. It’s a scale between 0 and 10; 10 being the least corrupt value. The Average of the corruption scale in the Arab World is 3.47

CPI of Arab States World Ranking Country Scale 19 Qatar 7.7 28 UAE 6.3 41 Oman 5.3 48 Bahrain 4.9 50 Jordan 4.7 Saudi Arabia 54 Kuwait 4.5 59 Tunisia 4.3 85 Morocco 3.4 91 Djibouti 3.2 98 Egypt 3.1 World Ranking Country Scale 105 Algeria 2.9 127 Lebanon 2.5 Syria 143 Mauritania 2.3 146 Libya 2.2 Yemen 154 Comoros 2.1 172 Sudan 1.6 175 Iraq 1.5 178 Somalia 1.1 Average Scale 3.47

CPI of Arab States

BPI (Bribe Payers Index) It’s an index measured by a survey of the people of a certain region. The surveyed people are asked to rate their country’s performance in fighting bribery. Like CPI, it is scaled from 0-10, 10 being the best score. However, no country in the World receives higher than a 9, which means all countries are viewed as exporters of corruption to some extent. The Middle East is overall the second worst after Latin America in fighting bribery, according to the BPI.

Knowledge of Anti-Bribery Convention 68% of the people in the Middle East and North Africa do not know that this convention exists. 15% know it exists, but know very little if anything about it. 7% know moderately about it. 6% know substantial information about it. Only 3% know nearly everything and are very aware of the Anti-Bribery Convention.

Are Governments Doing Enough? 39% say that Government is “Very Ineffective” in fighting bribery. 28% say that it is slightly ineffective. 8% believe that it is neither effective nor ineffective. 19% think that Government is effective. 4% believe that Government plays a very strong role in fighting bribery,

Who is the Most Corrupt? The Total Sample is the perceived average level of corruption. The Values in the “Middle East” are the perceived deviation from the Average. The Highlighted Values are perceived to be the most corrupt bodies in the government. In the ME, Police are viewed as the most corrupt.

Effects of Corruption There are many forms of corruption in the Arab World; and just like all around the world, they have nearly the same effects on the economy. Slaking off on infrastructure: Jeddah floods. (Billions of Saudi Riyals were “invested” to re-construct Jeddah’s poor infrastructure after the initial floods in 2009, but Jeddah experienced two floods in 2010 and 2011. Loss of talent due to “Wasta” when employers hire friends or family even if they are not qualified for the job. Leads to corrupt monopolies. Ahmed Ezz monopolizing steel industry. Owning around 80% of the market share, he is free to raise or lower prices as he pleases, without looking after the best interest of the people or the economy. Discourages foreign investment.

Works cited http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2010/results http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/bpi http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues6/ The Report: Egypt 2007. Oxford Business Group. January 2007. ISBN 1-9023-3957-6