The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism’s Daily PCIJ blog has a smart rundown of the issues surrounding Transparency International’s annual corruption index, as well an elegant summary of Global Integrity’s recent book on corruption metrics.
PCIJ’s Alecks P. Pabico worries that TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index is not actionable:
It begs asking though, with the Philippines’s deteriorating CPI score over the years, if corruption measurements like the more established and widely used index of TI have any value at all to the government, particularly in informing its efforts to address a problem that is increasingly seen as a major stumbling block to a country’s development.
The obvious reply, especially among critics of the Arroyo government, would be a big “No,” pointing as they do to its “lack of political will” to go after corrupt officials, moreso if they happen to be its political allies.
Pabico goes on to cite some key points from A Users’ Guide to Measuring Corruption in context of the Philippines. A solid analysis and definitely worth a read in its entirety. PCIJ does great work, and we’re not just saying that because they read our book.
Daily PCIJ: How to deal with corruption metrics like the CPI
— Jonathan Werve
