A Cross-Country Empirical Investigation of Corruption and its Relationship to Economic, Cultural, and Monitoring Institutions: An Examination of the Role of Accounting and Financial Statements Quality

This paper empirically tests a model that links economic, cultural, and information/monitoring variables to corruption in 61 countries. The results offer significant evidence to suggest that higher GNP per capita, moderate economic growth, effective legal and financial accounting systems, collectivist values and low power distance are associated with countries that have low corruption. Countries that have better laws, more effective judiciary, good financial reporting standards, and a higher concentration of accountants are found to be less corrupt.