ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the theory on corruption related to the search for a formula to fight corruption in the first section. Then, it explains an original conceptualized framework to understand and fight corruption is put forward, in which the level of education combined with access to information play a decisive role in sustaining the ability to claim political and social accountability. Along with the definition and cause of corruption, it pioneered a systematization of four factors that tend to bring about corruption: monopoly power; a wide margin for discretion, a lack of transparency in decision-making and a lack of accountability for decisions made. Variables such as log gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, GDP growth and total natural resources rents as a fraction of GDP are the variables that affect corruption. Several measures of corruption have been used in modern studies but the most common is the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) provided by Transparency International.
