Budgetary Transparency – An Improving Factor for Corruption Control and Economic Performance

Abstract

Abstract In the last two decades, international institutions, donors, academics are interested in budgetary transparency that promotes public access to information about budgets, government policies and financial activities of governments in order to make them accessible to citizens. Social reformers promote the idea that a high score of open budget index is the main incentive to influence policymakers to adopt policies to reliably optimize public finances. Based on data from the literature we developed a multiple regression model in panel (during 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012) and we have examined the links between corruption control (CC), which is the level at which public power is exercised over private gain, and got a very strong causal relationship, which budgetary transparency, as measured by Open Budget Index, and economic performance, as measured by the GDP per capita. Over 50% of the variation of the dependent variable, the (CC) is explained by the independent variables, budgetary transparency (OBI) and GDP per capita. The independent variables OBI and GDP per capita have a positive and significant effect on the level of corruption control in all countries. The central argument of the empirical study shows that high budget transparency scores determine both reducing of corruption and also improves government policies as well as providing vital information to the public.