Corruption as a negative phenomenon
Corruption is widespread in all countries of the world. It is most often defined as any form of abuse of power in the public or private sector, for personal or group gain. It appears in almost all areas of society: politics, state institutions, local government, public procurement, economy, agriculture, health, construction, media, sports, etc. Its consequences are visible at the national level in the form of: reduced economic growth, lowering the reputation of institutions the state in the eyes of its citizens, loss of investor confidence, strengthening inequality and poverty, lowering the quality of public services, human rights violations, etc. Analogous consequences are at the level of business systems: economic losses, investor distrust, lowering market reputation, declining employee moral, etc.
Estimates indicate that corruption in the world ranges from 3 to 15% of a country’s GDP, depending on the structure of its anti-corruption systems. In Europe, an economically and culturally more developed area of the world, 1 in 3 citizens considers corruption to be one of the leading problems in the country.