ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the argument that policy implementation can improve the quality of life when there is both economic development and political stability, meaning that corruption can be restrained. This optimistic argument consist of two parts, one economic and one political. First, there is a real opportunity for a rapid amelioration of the situation of poor countries provided that they can embark upon sustained economic development. If world poverty were to be reduced, a larger GDP would have to provide the resources that political elites could employ for improving the predicament of their populations. Second, political stability is a necessary condition for turning the possibility of economic improvement of a specific country into reality, otherwise corruption will dissipate the economic opportunity to raise the quality of life. In order to substantiate this argument, which focusses on the negative impact of corruption on Third World development, we make an empirical inquiry based on the findings stated in Appendix 1.
