Ignorance is Bliss! Internet Usage and Perceptions of Corruption in a Panel of Developing Countries

Authors

  • Alberto Posso RMIT University
  • Meg Elkins LaTrobe University

Keywords:

corruption perceptions, Internet usage, panel data, developing countries

Abstract

In a world of open-ended access to social media, the ability of governments to control information is slipping away. It is plausible in countries with limited Internet access for citizens to remain ignorant of the true amount of corruption. We built a cross-country panel of 124 developing nations to analyze the effect of Internet usage on perceptions of corruption from 1996 to 2009. We find that, ceteris paribus, the information citizens receive from the World Wide Web leads to deteriorating views of the state of corruption in their country. Greater perceptions of government effectiveness are unsurprisingly found to negatively and significantly decrease perceptions of corruption within countries.

Author Biographies

Alberto Posso, RMIT University

Alberto Posso is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Economics, Finance and Marketing at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. He holds a PhD in Economics from the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. His core research area is in labour and trade economics with a focus on the developing world. Alberto has predominantly authored studies on the development experience of Latin America, East Asia, and the Pacific. He has published his work in outlets such as The Review of Income and Wealth, The Scottish Journal of Political Economy, and Economic Modelling.

Meg Elkins, LaTrobe University

Meg Elkins is a PhD Candidate in the School of Economics at LaTrobe University, Melbourne, Australia. Her core area of research is on poverty reduction in some of the poorest developing countries. In particular Meg studies international aid donor policy from an economic/political framework and its effect on domestic outcomes. Meg has a forthcoming publication in The Journal of Development Studies.

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Published

2014-11-14

Issue

Vol. 8 (2014)

Section

Articles

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