Editing Political corruption (section)

===Consequences on politics, administration, and institutions===
[[File:Countries implicated in the Panama Papers.svg|thumb|upright 1.2|Countries with politicians, public officials or close associates implicated in the [[Panama Papers]] leak on April 15, 2016]]
Political corruption undermines democracy and [[good governance]] by flouting or even subverting formal processes. Corruption in elections and in the legislature reduces [[accountability]] and distorts representation in policymaking; corruption in the judiciary compromises the [[rule of law]]; and corruption in [[public administration]] results in the inefficient provision of services.  For republics, it violates a basic principle of [[republicanism]] regarding the centrality of civic virtue.<ref name="www-wds.worldbank"/>
More generally, corruption erodes the institutional capacity of government if procedures are disregarded, resources are siphoned off, and public offices are bought and sold. Corruption undermines the [[Legitimacy (political)|legitimacy of government]] and democratic values such as [[Political efficacy|political trust]]. Recent evidence suggests that variation in the levels of corruption amongst high-income democracies can vary significantly depending on the level of accountability of decision-makers.<ref name="www-wds.worldbank">{{cite web |last=Hamilton |first= Alexander |year=2013 |title= Small is beautiful, at least in high-income democracies: the distribution of policy-making responsibility, electoral accountability, and incentives for rent extraction  |url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/IW3P/IB/2013/01/07/000158349_20130107132037/Rendered/PDF/wps6305.pdf |publisher= World Bank}}</ref>

Evidence from [[fragile state]]s shows that corruption and bribery can adversely impact trust in institutions.<ref name="bath.ac.uk">Hamilton, A. and Hudson, J. (2014) The Tribes that Bind: Attitudes to the Tribe and Tribal Leader in the Sudan. Bath Economic Research Papers 31/14. [http://www.bath.ac.uk/economics/research/working-papers/2014-papers/31-14.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206005357/http://www.bath.ac.uk/economics/research/working-papers/2014-papers/31-14.pdf|date=2015-02-06}}</ref><ref name="Hamilton, A 2014">Hamilton, A. and Hudson, J. (2014) Bribery and Identity: Evidence from Sudan. Bath Economic Research Papers 30/14.[http://www.bath.ac.uk/economics/research/working-papers/2014-papers/30-14.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206005359/http://www.bath.ac.uk/economics/research/working-papers/2014-papers/30-14.pdf|date=2015-02-06}}</ref> Corruption can also impact government's provision of goods and services. It increases the costs of goods and services which arise from efficiency loss. In the absence of corruption, governmental projects might be cost-effective at their true costs; however, once corruption costs are included projects may not be cost-effective so they are not executed distorting the provision of goods and services.<ref name=":0" />