Fix the broken windows

Yesterday was the International Anti-Corruption Day and almost everyone called for an end to corruption. But almost no one said how beyond calling for tougher laws and their enforcement. Here's the catch. Who will enforce them? Will they come from another planet?

Countries that have managed to keep corruption, embezzlement and fraud under check have done so by adopting a three-pronged approach: the lawyer's approach, the economist's approach and the businessman's approach. It is the first - tougher new laws and tougher enforcement of existing laws - that is usually the topic of discussion in the media and other circles. The economist's approach is the least talked about. It basically entails unleashing the forces of competition against corruption and has the least cost in terms of civil liberties.

Also READ: Corruption - Nature of the disease

The businessman's approach entails paying higher wages to bureaucrats. Two of the least corrupt countries of the world, Singapore and Hong Kong, are usually cited as examples of successful applications of the lawyer's approach, as they have extremely tough laws on corruption. But they are also examples of countries that pay their bureaucrats exceptionally well.

Which solution is the most practical for our country? While it may take some time to answer this seemingly simplistic question, can we start small? Can we apply the Broken Windows theory which states that small infractions left unchecked have a snowball effect? Larger corruption is more difficult and costly to fight. When society fights small crimes such as breaking of a window with a stone while passing or vandalising with graffiti, it snuffs out the oxygen for large crimes as well. Not fighting small scale corruption gives the signal that the system is not watchful or does not care enough. The claim is supported with much empirical study by social scientists and real world applications.

How difficult is it to enforce smoking bans in parks, for example? How can a society that fails to do that fight large scale corruption?

Let's start small.

The writer is a member of the Editorial Team.