A Cross-Sectional Data Analysis on the Different Economic Determinants of Corruption in the Asia-Pacific Region in the Year 2018

Abstract

Corruption is a prevalent issue that leads to different detrimental effects on a country’s society, economy, and overall image. Given that this problem hinders a nation's ability to develop and grow, the study aims to determine the different Economic Determinants of Corruption in the Asia-Pacific region in the year 2018, with the specified dependent variable being the Corruption Perceptions Index and the independent variables being the Consumer Price Index, Index of Economic Freedom, GDP Growth rate, Inflation rate, and Wage. Furthermore, the paper will also study the relationship of these variables with one another among the 30 different Asia-Pacific countries to be included in this research. In order to obtain the results required, the Ordinary Least Squares or otherwise known as the OLS method, was utilized in the regression of the data. It was found that the Index of Economic Freedom and GDP Growth rate both resulted in having a significant relationship with the constant, corruption. However, the Consumer Price Index, Inflation rate, and Wage do not possess this and were found to be insignificant in regards to corruption. With all that being said, it may be concluded that corruption, despite being a difficult matter to address, maybe alleviated once the different economic determinants affecting this issue can be identified, such as the Index of Economic Freedom, and the GDP Growth rate.