Do International Corruption Metrics Matter?: The Impact of Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index

Corruption, often seen as the main hindrance to development and growth in many societies, has led to greater demand for accountability and transparency in how governments conduct their businesses. This text examines the impact of Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index and whether or not the CPI and hence TI matter. It explores three areas: the world’s political and economic responses and Jamaica’s policy responses to the CPI. Jamaica is selected for a case study due to its high CPI rating from TI; Jamaica is a country that has strong anti-corruption laws but, nonetheless, sees its CPI ranking worsen almost yearly. Taking into consideration the importance scholars and policymakers give to corruption’s effect on development, the findings show that the CPI—the most cited corruption index—does not change the behavior of world’s political and economic policymakers. Although the index is published yearly, there is no measured change as it regards political and economic policymakers. Nonetheless, Jamaican policymakers pay significant attention to their performance on TI’s CPI. Transparency International’s CPI is used as the authoritative tool to assess countries’ corruption perceptions scores by both international governments and several international agencies. The use and reference of TI’s CPI does not translate as the main factor in regards to the increase and or decrease of aid flow. Surprisingly, there was no evidence that the CPI affected the credit rating and or investment flow into Jamaica. It did indicate, however, that TI’s CPI is reflective of the global market perceptions of Jamaica’s economy. Research shows that the index does change policy responses in Jamaica as government officials across varying agencies pay attention to the index and the progression and or worsening of the country’s score.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Rethinking The Role of Civil Society in the 21st Century Chapter 2 Whose Perceptions Are These Anyway? Chapter 3 Political Responses to Transparency International’s CPI Chapter 4 Economic Responses to Transparency International’s CPI Chapter 5 Jamaica’s Policy Responses to Transparency International’s CPI Chapter 6 Lip Service At Its Best? Chapter 7 Conclusions: From 1995—To Date and Onwards

About the Author :
Omar E. Hawthorne is lecturer in the Department of Government and senior research fellow for the Center of Leadership and Governance at the University of the West Indies.

Review :
A historical, analytical, thought provoking dissertation which has evolved into this book…it does take us on a journey with Dr. Hawthorne as she tracks and documents Transparency International over 15 years, but more importantly, the book examines other indices and perceptions globally. Do International Corruption Metrics Matter: The Impact of Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, is a must read for scholars and students of International Relations. It is also an invaluable tool for government agencies wishing to understand and improve their corruption perception rating. Within its pages Dr. Hawthorne documents and examines Transparency International’s yearly reports for a period of 15 years and makes insightful and thought provoking observations. Good governance is at the centre of the development debates. Sadly, corruption remains a significant impediment to the development of many middle-income states such as Jamaica where there are considerable opportunities of corruption and weak systems of accountability. In this book, Dr. Hawthorne takes on this critical issue. She breaks new ground in exploring the impact of the publication of Transparency International’s CPI (form of public shaming) on behavior of critical development actors, and does this with insight and courage. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in development and good governance.