Some scholars have argued that direct distribution of natural resource revenues to the population would help resource-rich countries escape the “resource curse.†This discussion note analyzes whether this proposal is a viable policy alternative for resource-rich countries. The first...

This paper demonstrates that high and rising corruption increases income inequality and poverty by reducing economic growth, the progressivity of the tax system, the level and effectiveness of social spending, and the formation of human capital, and by perpetuating an unequal distribution of...

Staff Discussion Notes showcase the latest policy-related analysis and research being developed by individual IMF staff and are published to elicit comment and to further debate. These papers are generally brief and written in nontechnical language, and so are aimed at a broad audience...

The economics of corruption: an overview / George T. Abed and Sanjeev Gupta -- pt. 1. Causes and consequences of corruption. Corruption around the world: causes, consequences, scope, and cures / Vito Tanzi -- Bureaucratic corruption and the rate of temptation: do wages in the civil service...