The Effect of Corruption on Human Development in South Asia and Southeast Asia

Abstract

This paper is concerned with how corruption affects human development in South Asia and Southeast using panel data from 19 countries over a period of 20 years from 2002 to 2021. The corruption Perception Index (CPI) and Human Development Index (HDI) have been used as the independent and dependent variables respectively. The overall results indicate that corruption hampers the growth of human development relating to the theory of sand in the wheel of corruption in the study. Comparative analysis also revealed that a negative relationship persists between corruption and human development in South Asia and Southeast Asia. South Asia accounts for a lower mean HDI and a high corruption rate compared to Southeast Asia despite being neighbors. Overall and regional study findings support corruption being a sanding instrument in the regions.