TI's Corruption Perceptions Index and Bangladesh - email debate

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2001 released in June by Transparency International (TI) concluded that, of 91 countries surveyed in 2001, Bangladesh was perceived to be the most corrupt country.

The CPI is a poll of polls, drawing on surveys from independent
institutions, reflecting the perceptions of business people, academics and country analysts. The criterion for inclusion of a country is the availability of a minimum of three surveys. Based on this criterion, Bangladesh was first included in 1996 (4th from the bottom), excluded in the following  years, and finally included this year as the following three polls were available - World Bank (Business Environment Survey 2001), the World Economic Forum (Global Competitiveness Report 2001), and the Economic
Intelligence Unit 2001. The Bangladesh chapter of TI (TIB) has made clear that it has no input whatsoever in the preparation of the CPI.

The CPI ranking is based on a score which is an aggregate of the individual survey scores. However, prior to aggregation TI applies a standardisation formula to the individual survey scores since each uses a different scaling system. The CPI score ranges from 10 (highly clean) to 0 (highly corrupt). In CPI 2001, Bangladesh's score is 0.4 (Finland has the top score of 9.9). But at the same time, the range of individual survey results for Bangladesh
is from -1.7 to +3.8, a greater range than for any other country. By the same token, Bangladesh's standard deviation, a statistical measure of the spread of values, is the highest at 2.9. TI itself says " this result needs to be viewed with caution".

The release of the CPI 2001 has evoked widespread reaction in Bangladesh from the government, politicians, media, academics, civil society organisations and the general public, unlike anything seen in any other country covered by the survey or in 1996 when Bangladesh was ranked 4th from the bottom. The Awami League government, represented mainly through its Finance Minister SAMS Kibria, was quick to reject the report, questioning its scientific basis and arguing that it was politically motivated given the timing and wide circulation of its release, that it has maligned the government and damaged the nation's image. The Minister called for the resignation of TIB's Board of Trustees.

Other reactions included: appreciation that CPI 2001, in spite of any methodological shortcomings, has put the whole corruption issue at the centre stage; resigned acceptance, dismay and shock by mainly expatriate Bangladeshis at their country being labelled the most corrupt; debate by academics on the methodological shortcomings of the survey; whether the
inherent sensationalism caused by CPI diverts attention and perhaps even does harm to the very useful work being done on transparency and corruption issues in Bangladesh by TIB; accusations of humiliation and insult being meted out to the country and its citizens.

TIB has conducted an email debate on the CPI and Bangladesh. To read contributions to the debate, click here.

If you wish to know in greater detail about the CPI or read the press reports following its release, please follow the links below.

I look forward to your valuable contributions to this interesting topic.

Imran Rahman
Moderator, CPI 2001 Discussion Forum
Member, TIB & Associate Professor, IBA, Dhaka University
10 August 2001

• Click here for fuller details of the CPI
  
  
• Click here for a statement by TIB's Chairman made on 3 July 2001
  
  
• Click here for press coverage of the CPI in Bangladesh