ABSTRACT
Other than the question of definitions, few issues have so thoroughly stymied the comparative study of corruption as that of measurement. Types and amounts of corruption vary among, and within, societies. Theory tells us that these contrasts reflect political and economic influences, history, and culture, and in turn affect societies and their development in important ways. But the difficulty of measuring corruption has long made it difficult to make such comparisons, to test hypotheses, and to build sound, comprehensive theories.
