Ideas worth spreading

Reducing corruption takes a specific kind of investment

2,136,570 views | Efosa Ojomo • TED Salon: Brightline Initiative

Traditional thinking on corruption goes like this: if you put good laws in place and enforce them well, then economic development increases and corruption falls. In reality, we have the equation backwards, says innovation researcher Efosa Ojomo. In this compelling talk, he offers new thinking on how we could potentially eliminate corruption worldwide by focusing on one thing: scarcity. "Societies don't develop because they've reduced corruption," he says. "They're able to reduce corruption because they've developed."

Traditional thinking on corruption goes like this: if you put good laws in place and enforce them well, then economic development increases and corruption falls. In reality, we have the equation backwards, says innovation researcher Efosa Ojomo. In this compelling talk, he offers new thinking on how we could potentially eliminate corruption worldwide by focusing on one thing: scarcity. "Societies don't develop because they've reduced corruption," he says. "They're able to reduce corruption because they've developed."

This talk was presented at a TED Salon event given in partnership with Brightline Initiative. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

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About the speaker

Efosa Ojomo

Innovation researcher

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Efosa Ojomo researches and writes about how innovation transforms organizations and creates inclusive prosperity for many.

Krislert Samphantharak and Edmund Malesky | Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 2008 | Article

"Predictable Corruption and Firm Investment"

In their paper, economist Krislert Samphantharak and political scientist Edmund Malesky explain that the predictability of bribes is at least as important for a firm's investment decisions as the amount of bribes firms pay, provided the amount is not prohibitively expensive.

Edward Glaeser and Andrei Shleifer | NBER Working Paper, 2001 | Article

"The Rise of the Regulatory State"

Economists Edward Glaeser and Andrei Shleifer write about how the United States federal government developed its regulatory capacity. In their paper, they find that as more American entrepreneurs developed innovations that served the broader population, the more necessary it became for the federal government to regulate these new industries. One primary reason was that corporations became too influential and were able to bribe judges in smaller courts.

Robert Bates | W. W. Norton & Company, 2009 | Book

Prosperity and Violence: The Political Economy of Development

In this short and easy read, Harvard University professor Robert Bates provides a brilliant summary about the evolution of institutional development in Europe. He peels back the covers and goes behind the scenes to show readers how Europe's courts and parliaments were developed. In both cases, the connection between growing and thriving markets and the ability for the State to generate more revenue by developing these new institutions is apparent.

Faith Jaycox | Facts on File, 2005 | Book

The Progressive Era

Faith Jaycox's book is brilliant. For anyone who wants to get a front-row view of the growing pains the United States experienced as it developed, this book is for you. In one part of the book, Jaycox details how political parties in the US engaged in voter intimidation, police corruption and election fraud. But as people became more prosperous, they began forming organizations, known as Good Government Clubs, that could fight the incumbent political machinery.

Deirdre McCloskey | University of Chicago Press, 2011 | Book

Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can't Explain the Modern World

Bourgeois Dignity is one of three volumes in McCloskey's masterpiece Bourgeois series. Hers is perhaps the most detailed book on economic history, explaining how innovation led to widespread prosperity in today's prosperous countries. McCloskey's clear and simple language helps the average non-economist reader understand the importance of innovation in creating the modern world.

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About TED Salon

TED Salons welcome an intimate audience for an afternoon or evening of highly-curated TED Talks revolving around a globally relevant theme. A condensed version of a TED flagship conference, they are distinct in their brevity, opportunities for conversation, and heightened interaction between the speaker and audience.

Read more about TED Salons

This talk was presented at a TED Salon event given in partnership with Brightline Initiative. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TED Salons.

Learn more about the power of market-creating innovations.