Abstract

The aim of the paper is to demonstrate that extreme wealth at country level is a consequence of corruption for a set of 42 countries over the period 2005–2018. A dynamic estimation (sys-GMM) is conducted, and different indices of corruption are used in order to obtain solid results. The data on extreme wealth is taken from Forbes annual listing of billionaires. The main findings are highly supportive of the idea that corruption fosters extreme wealth, acting as a greasing wheel that contributes to this unbalanced economic process. Therefore, billionaires face incentives to perform these types of acts which tend to perpetuate the corrupt system. However, legal mechanisms are also significant determinants of extreme wealth. Results also confirm that factors such as economic freedom and its components, as well as other economic and political variables, have positive effects on this wealth.

Details

Title
Corruption and extreme wealth. Evidence at country level
Author
Héctor Flores Marquez 1 ; Ana Lilia Valderrama Santibañez 1 ; Gerardo Angeles Castro 2 ; Omar Neme Castillo 1 

 Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Escuela Superior De Economía, Plan De Agua Prieta 66, Plutarco Elías Calles, 01150, Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City, Mexico 
 Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Dirección De Prospectiva E Inteligencia Tecnológica, Tecnopoli. Av. Wilfrido Massieu S/N, Edificio Tecnópoli, Zacatenco, 07738, Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City, Mexico 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
Jan 2021
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Ltd.
e-ISSN
23311886
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2614517449
Copyright
© 2021 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.