Fear and Loathing of the Corruption Perception Index : Does Transparency International Penalize Press Freedom?

Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI) has become the single most effective advocacy tool in the global fight against fraud, embezzlement and other abuses of public office for private gain. Countries relegated to the bottom tier of the CPI rankings are not only embarrassed (usually), but penalized financially, as the stigma makes it harder to secure aid and investment. For any multilateral loan officer or multinational plant-siting team, checking a country's CPI rating is now basic due diligence. As well it should be: Corruption is a development scourge, acting as a stubborn brake on growth, a regressive tax on the poor, and often a corrosively effective enemy of democratization. Corruption assessment, not unlike governance assessment tools, is qualitative and the result of perceptions. Therefore, it suffers from the influence of information availability and media freedom. Our analysis, demonstrated that the media freedom extent may have a strong