Roots of Administrative Corruption in Public Sector of Developing Countries

What lessons does prior research on causes of corruption offer public administrators operating in, and researchers studying the dynamics of, public sectors of most governments developing societies? In this paper we summarize a voluminous body of prior economic, social and political science research that tells us about the roots of corruption in public sector of developing countries. Informing the analysis is a review of reviews of a sprawling research that examines six indicators: government size, oil revenue, democracy, quality of bureaucracy, rule of law, and human development; that are assumed to be major factors in increasing or decreasing the level of corruption in developing societies. We discern from this formidable body of research what is known about causes of corruption, what is left to know, and how useful the prior research could become panacea for encountering administrative corruption of developing countries. Finally, based on research findings, suggestions for future research are presented.