This study introduces a new perspective on the role of corruption in econom
ic, growth and provides quantitative estimates of the impact of corruption
on the growth and importance of the transmission channels. In our ordinary
least squares estimations, we find that a 1% increase in the corruption lev
el reduces the growth rats by about 0.72% or, expressed differently, a one-
unit increase in the corruption index reduces the growth rate by 0.545 perc
entage points. The most important channel through which corruption affects
economic growth is political instability, which accounts for about 53% of t
he total effect. We also find that corruption reduces the level of human ca
pital and the share of private investment. J. Comp. Econ., March 2001, 29(1
), pp. 66-79. School of Business, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Ton
g, Hong Kong. (C). 2001 Academic Press.