View: Why institutions are corrupt?

Today I read an opinion entitled "Why Nepali institutions are corrupt? ". The article is written by Dr. Ananda Jha where he presents reasons behind the corruption that is going on in our institutions. He has presented very interesting thesis and supporting examples.

Dr. Jha writes, "A person accepting bribes compares the benefits of taking bribes with its costs. If the benefits exceed the costs, he accepts it; if it does not, he rejects it. Regardless of his race, place of residence, education, and his level of income, it is this cost and benefit analysis that determines whether he accepts bribes." In other words, a person tries to analyse the possible negative consequences of taking bribes as well as the benefits. For example, he considers whether there is a chance of doing investigation on it and so on. And benefits of course in terms of the amount of money he is going to receive. Based on this analysis, he determines whether to take bribe or not. To illustrate more, Dr. Jha presents an example: "Try giving 5,000 rupees to the police chief of Kathmandu to hush a murder, and he will throw you out of the room. Try giving him 5 million, and maybe he will think twice before being impolite to you. Try giving 50 rupees to motorcycle license granting operator to bend the rules for you, he will get offended. Try giving him 5,000 rupees, and he might actually bend the rules for you." Moreover, he says that the same rule i.e. cost and benefit analysis applies to the one who is offering bribes. If he has to pay more cost, he doesn't offer else he does.

Dr. Jha tries to focus on the rules in Nepali institutions. I admit that if the laws are strong and they are enforced properly, costs of taking and offering bribes are high. Developed country also have corruption cases though the cost is higher compared to the developing and poor countries because the benefits offered are comparable with the corresponding costs and they are higher compared to that of the developing and poor countries.

In conclusion, I agree with the cost and benefit model of corruption mentioned by Dr. Jha. The rules are equally applicable to any institutions in the world.