The Personal is Political. The Political is Personal.

 
why bloggers are sometimes not too popular

Prof. Jakob Svensson at the Institute for International Economic Studies of Stockholm University seems to be some kind of expert on corruption in various countries around the world. Last year, he published "Eight Questions about Corruption" (.pdf) in the Journal of Economic Perspectives.

He wrote:

The findings are robust across data sets . . . Corrupt countries are less open and regulate both entry to the market and the press more. . . .

Somewhat surprisingly, only GDP per capita, the proxy for initial human capital stock, and regulation of the press remain significantly correlated with corruption.

(emphases supplied)

Svensson's data suggests that government officials "on the take" will feel little warm regard for those who develop mechanisms for increased grassroots media and monitoring.

(found via the winter 2006 Wilson Quarterly)

posted by TiR at 7:15 AM