Government spending in the top ten U.S. states for public corruption is artificially higher by more than $1,300 per capita every year

In the minds of many, the government corruption tends to be a problem largely limited to developing countries. Yet, in new research Cheol Liu and John L. Mikesell, find that corruption across U.S. states is a major – and costly – problem. They find that the ten most corrupt states could have reduced their annual expenditure by more than $1,300 per capita, if their level of corruption was reduced to the states’ average. They also argue that public corruption influences how state resources are allocated to favor more “bribe-generating” spending such as construction, highways, correction, and police protection ahead of education, health and hospitals.