The Corruption Index is Wrong

And here’s how it should work.

The CPI, or Corruption Perceptions Index, is based on the public perception of corruption in a society. This is an absurd measurement, and completely unscientific. Corruption, of course, is a hard thing to measure, but it isn’t impossible. But I don’t even think they are looking at the right thing.

There are lots of different kinds of corruption, so let me start there.

Low-level Bureaucratic Corruption

This is where public servants regularly abuse their power to enrich themselves or cause difficulties for citizens. This might be cops taking a bribe instead of giving you a ticket, it might be a handout to the building inspector to ignore the rats, it might be a person at the DMV clearing your driving record. These are focused on an individual citizen-victim.

High-level Bureaucratic Corruption

This is where lawmakers and regulators abuse their power to enrich their friends and families. This is SEC inspectors taking jobs at banks, it’s Congress trading stocks, it’s

AI Art for “the corruption perceptions index is rotten” It likes certain letters more than others.

Institutional Corruption

This is where institutions exist that are a corrupting influence on society. It doesn’t necessarily mean that anyone is being cheated out of money. The private…