Exploring the Impact of Corruption and Governance on Poverty in Developing Countries: A Comparative Analysis of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh

Abstract

The article examines the effect of corruption and governance on poverty, especially in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. The paper brings to the foreground the roles that the World Bank and the United Nations have played in fashioning development policies in these countries. Nevertheless, those interventions demonstrate a very strong dependency on the existing local governance systems and the levels of corruption that hamper poverty reduction strategies. In terms of its methodology, the research utilises a qualitative secondary data analysis method whereby data collected from different journals, reports, and institutional documents are analysed. Thus, it allows for comparative analysis of the quality of governance as well as the impact of the latter on poverty in the three countries. The analysis shows that due to relatively stable governance in India, the poverty rate has decreased; however, Pakistan and Bangladesh may face higher negative changes due to the corruption and bad policy implementation. These vices in the so-called ‘‘third world’’ nations have soaked up funding that would have otherwise been used to develop the nation, compromised the needs of the needy, and slowed down poverty eradication. On this note, the study concludes that international interventions regarding governance should be sensitive to the local governance factors and corruption indices. A top-down approach is inefficient, and a bottom-up approach is necessary to fit each country’s needs to fight poverty and assist in sustainable development.