In recent years, research and analysis have provided overwhelming evidence that corruption is a regressive tax on the poor. Corruption distorts public resource allocation and impedes access to basic services such as health and education. It discriminates against small and medium enterprises in their access to markets. Evidence shows that poor people tend to spend a larger proportion of their incomes on bribes than citizens in other income categories. Corruption undermines the legitimacy and functioning of the state, affecting even its ability to ensure basic security of life and property.
In 1996–97 the World Bank began exploring the use of surveys as a means to "measure" corruption. Illicit and secretive, corruption by its very nature is difficult to quantify using survey instruments. In fact, for many years it was thought that data on corruption were impossible to capture. But experience over the last few years has shown that if designed, targeted, and implemented well, surveys can elicit from victims and even perpetrators of corruption — including households, the private sector, and public officials themselves — perceptions of, as well as experiences with, corruption across the range of public sector institutions. Thus far, the Bank's experience has demonstrated that:
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Surveys can help diagnose the extent and source of institutional dysfunction in a country, help set reform priorities, and inform policy dialogue;
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They can help quantify the economic and social costs of corruption, and evaluate the quality of public service delivery and of the business environment;
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They represent an empirical approach that turns the policy debate away from a focus on individuals toward a focus on institutions;
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Surveys allow the establishment of baselines against which progress on anti-corruption can be measured;
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Surveys can also provide public information on corruption, which in turn can encourage attention by the executive, parliamentary scrutiny, and greater participation of civil society to stimulate the demand for better governance and measures against corruption.
In short, surveys can be powerful components of strategies to combat corruption and improve governance.
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