Corruption can reach many levels

Corruption can reach many levels
and aspects of governance and
span a range in its scale.
Corruption that involves the public
interacting directly with low- or
mid-level bureaucrats who
implement policies is known as
“petty corruption.” A health
inspector taking money from a
restaurant owner to give a
passing inspection is an example
of petty corruption. “Grand
corruption,” in contrast, involves
high-ranking public officials or
politicians who influence policies
and rules. They can influence
policy to give businesses
unfettered access to natural
resources, or help pass laws or
regulations that are in the interest
of those who are willing to pay. In
unstable countries, another form
of grand corruption occurs when
politicians buy votes in order to
get elected and, once in office,
engage in corrupt practices to
cement their rule. And, even in
stable democracies, it is not
uncommon for legislators to use
their positions of power to reward
their financial supporters with
favors, the awarding of contracts,
or the drafting of new laws. Poor
regulation over “the flow of private
money into election campaigns
and political party coffers” is the
“number one governance
challenge around the world,”
notes the watchdog group Global
Integrity in its 2008 report.2