ABSTRACT
Chapter 10 examines corruption in 29 European nations in terms of their economic characteristics and compares them with the level of corruption in each country. The chapter reviews the characteristics of European countries in terms of levels of corruption and the relationships between levels of corruption and economic indicators. Included are perceptions of corruption, and the general atmosphere for investment in each country as measured by the KOF globalization index to determine the future monetary policy of each country. The authors also consider GDP per capita and each country’s social situation expressed by the human development index. The results of a multidimensional comparative analysis using the method of cluster analysis are presented and discussed. The purpose of the analysis is to classify these countries in terms of corruption levels and essential social, political, and globalization factors that may be affected by that level. The example of European countries indicates that the level of corruption as measured by the CPI may be high not only in the poorest countries of the world, as it is frequently believed, but also among European. It is not always the case that a low corruption level and a favorable investment climate automatically translate into a significant level of foreign direct investment inflows. Nonetheless, the results confirm that low-level corruption is usually related to a high globalization level of a given country, as well as its stable economic and social situation.
