Causes
Legal systems are the source of Judicial Corruption in third-world countries. It originates from the judges and lawyers who are at the center of the legal systems in Africa. There are numerous causes associated with this form of corruption in Africa.
There is a lingering culture of impunity in African leadership that is the primary cause of corruption. This makes it trickle down to the grassroots, with the most affected being the people (Homans, 20).
Corruption also originates from the loose and easily-tricked legal systems. These legal systems, made by people who want to maneuver their way through big scandals, lay bare big corruption. The other cause is the low wages that the civil servants receive. These low wages make them want to have more and hence engage in unlawful means towards that goal (Mauro, 690).
There are also institutional loopholes that form the basis from which corruption in these countries is propagated. Government agencies are the most corrupt. This is because of the fact that most people who require certain documentation are always visiting them. The system is such that it is too complicated and long making some people to opt for short cuts: corruption and bribery (Buscaglia, 280).
The societies in those countries are such that they have developed a culture engulfed in corrupt ways. To beat the ever tedious ways of following the required routes, they have created a web of corruption. It is also a society where there is so much jostling for space and materialism (Shleifer, 600). The true definition of success is with the material possession one has.
This has fueled both corruption and war in third world countries. Opportunities are also quite limited in third world countries. This has developed a desperation that is widely spreading throughout society making people, especially the youth, to be unorthodox in their ways (Blunt, 3).
Economic Consequences
The average person’s perception concerning equitability in society is quickly deteriorating. This psychological disorientation has affected many people who have opted for unorthodox means killing creativity and hard work (Klitgaard, 20). These two ingredients have killed the drivers of economy such as job creation, employment and well trained professionals.
Corruption ahs also created social divisions with only very few rich people and a majority of poor people (Becker, 235). This social imbalance has continued to plague the governments’ ability to tackle important aspects of society like security. This has sacred investors in some parts of the countries which ahs greatly slowed economic progress.
The overall cycle is that poverty has continued to plague third world countries that only depend on developed countries to even feed their own people. Governments have also lost so much in revenue due to corruption which has curtailed its desired progress in certain fields like infrastructure which has worsened economic progress (Becker, 13).
Recommendations
The most important thing to do is to engage in long-term culture changes. Once that has changed, each individual will know the consequences of corruption and its effects and therefore desist from engaging in it (Rose-Ackerman, 34). The autocratic government machinery ought to change to simple procedures.
This will curtail corruption from people who want fast services and unorthodox means. Job creation should be enhanced and people who engage in corruption should face strict penalties in court to forestall prospective offenders (Andvig, 4).
Works Cited
Andvig, Jens Christopher. Corruption in developing countries. Northern journal in political economy, 23(1999): 51-70.
Becker, Gary. Law Enforcement, Malfeasance, and Compensation of Employees. Journal of Legal Studies, 3(1980): 1-18.
Becker, Gary. Nobel Lecture: The Economic Way of Thinking about Behavior. Journal of Political Economy, 1.108 (2002): 234-67.
Blunt, Elizabeth. Corruption costs Africa billions. 2010. Web.
Buscaglia, Edgardo. Corruption and Judicial Reform in Latin America. Policy Studies Journal, 17.4 (1997): 273-95.
Homans, George. Social Behavior: Its Elementary Forms. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974.
Klitgaard, Robert. Adjusting to Reality: Beyond State versus Market in Economic Development. San Francisco: ICS Press, 1991.
Mauro, Paolo. Corruption and Growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 110(1995): 681-711.
Rose-Ackerman, Susan. Corruption: A Study in Political Economy. New York: Academic Press, 1978.
Shleifer, Anna. Corruption. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 108(1998):599-617.