Petty corruption contributing to poverty in Asia

from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

By Corinne Podger for Radio Australia

Posted 2 hours 33 minutes ago

A major United Nations report says so called petty corruption is draining economic growth across Asia, and affecting people's access to basic services such as health and education.

It says this then perpetuates regional poverty.

The UN Development Program's report was launched in the Indonesian capital Jakarta by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Program spokesman Anuradha Rajivan has told Radio Australia's Asia Pacific program the report highlights corruption in daily life is just as serious as large scale corruption.

"Probably a better way to call it would be retail corruption, to give the impression of how widespread it can be, how persistent it can be and how it can affect daily lives of people," she said.

Ms Rajivan says this type of corruption cannot be measured in dollar terms but it can affect many people.

"There are dollar estimates, but they completely miss out on other dimensions of corruption, for example, the number of people that are affected," she said.