From Concepts to Indicators: Availability, Quality and Gaps in Existing “Ready-To-Use” Measures of Corruption

Abstract

This panel focuses on the quality and fitness-for-purpose of existing corruption indicators and measures. It examines what data currently exists, how it varies across sources and contexts, and, importantly, how well these measures serve different analytical, comparative and policy-oriented purposes. Starting from the premise that measurement challenges are inseparable from conceptual ones, the panel approaches corruption indicators as tools whose validity and usefulness depend on their fit with underlying definitions, research purposes, and broader research designs. We invite critical reflections on widely used corruption indicators, including the links between definitions of corruption and measurement strategies, their conceptual clarity, operational coherence, and limitations. The panel welcomes both conceptual and empirical contributions that engage with “ready-to-use” corruption measures and assess their strength, weaknesses, and conditions of appropriate use. We particularly encourage papers addressing, among others, the following themes: - proposing framework for evaluating the quality of corruption indicators; - developing strategies to assess validity, comparability and sustainability of corruption measures - identifying gaps in existing corruption data sources and offering frameworks for developing new measures - analyzing the links between data production and management practices, open access challenges, quality and the (re)use of corruption measures - systematizing relevant conceptual aspects of corruption to develop more targeted and practical measurements.

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