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Inequality exacerbates corruption by elites
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Corruption illustration (Shutterstock/Atstock Productions)
C
orruption and economic inequality are like a vicious circle. Both have a significant impact on each other. Unfortunately, growing discourse on corruption and its eradication rarely mention economic inequality as a crucial issue.
Indonesia Corruption Watch recorded 454 corruption cases in 2018. A survey by Transparency International in 2018 ranked Indonesia 89th on the corruption perception index, much worse than neighboring countries such as Malaysia ( 61 ), Singapore (3) and Brunei Darussalam ( 31 ).
Meanwhile, inequality has remained extremely high. Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported that as of September 2018, Indonesia’s Gini ratio stood at 0.384, with a ration of 1.0 reflecting perfect inequality.
The Palma ratio, another measurement alternative to the Gini ratio that places zero as perfect equality, gave 1.8 to Indonesia for 2010-2017.
This ratio is calculated by dividing the gross national income by 10 percent of the richest population with the 40 percent of the poorest.
Nevertheless, discussion mostly emphasized corruption as a cause of perpetual inequality. Not much discourse sees inequality as a “scapegoat” for rampant corruption.
Consequences of the high level inequality are the super-rich and wealth accumulation.
