How Corrupt is Your State?

Are you living in one of the most corrupt states in America, or a place where government is more open and honest?

A new study reveals the 10 most corrupt states in the nation. The report also names the states where dishonest leaders are less of an issue.

Researchers from the University of Hong Kong and Indiana University examined 25,000 convictions for corruption among government leaders. They then matched this data to information about state spending to create their rankings.

Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee were found to be the three most-corrupt states in the nation. These were followed by Illinois, well-known for dirty dealings in Chicago, and Pennsylvania rounding out the top five. Alabama, Alaska, South Dakota, Kentucky and Florida complete the list of most corrupt states.

In all of these states except South Dakota, government spending is abnormally high. Public funds in these states often spent on programs that easily hide vast sums of money, at the expense of hospitals and other public services.

The report read, “Corruption is likely to distort states’ public resource allocations in favor of higher-potential “bribe-generating” spending and items directly beneficial to public officials, such as capital, construction, highways, borrowing, and total salaries and wages.”

Large, non-standard construction projects are often undertaken in these areas, making it difficult for the general public to judge costs.

Investigators estimate dirty dealings in politics is costing residents of the most corrupt states an average of $1,300 a year. That represents more than five percent of state expenditures.

Oregon was found to be the least corrupt state, followed by Oregon and Minnesota. New Hampshire and Utah take fourth and fifth place in the study. The top ten least-corrupt states also include Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Vermont and Wisconsin.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/puar.12212/full

http://fortune.com/2014/06/10/most-corrupt-states-in-america/?icid=maing-

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http://news.indiana.edu/releases/iu/2014/06/cost-of-corruption-paper.shtml

http://www.policymic.com/articles/90963/the-10-most-and-10-least-corrupt-states-in-america

http://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Study-reveals-the-most-corrupt-states-in-the-U-S-5547642.php