Original article Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics

CONTROL OF CORRUPTION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN DEVELOPING ASEAN COUNTRIES

Hady Sutjipto - Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, Indonesia
Saharuddin Didu - Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, Indonesia
Rah Adi Fahmi Ginanjar - Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, Indonesia
Tony Santika Chendrawan - Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, Indonesia
Andi Kustanto - Policy Research Institute for Development Economics (PRIDE), Indonesia
Received: 08 Jun 2026
Revised:
Published:
Downloads: 0
Citations: 0
Book 2/2026
JEL O47 O11 H11 H00
DOI https://doi.org/10.56497/etj2671205

Abstract

Corruption reflects governance failure, which increases transaction costs, weakens regulatory certainty, and ultimately suppresses economic growth. This study analyses the effect of corruption control on economic growth in eight developing ASEAN countries from 2012 to 2024. Panel data econometric methods using fixed effects models with the Driscoll–Kraay standard errors (FE-DKSE) have been employed to estimate the effect, whilst feasible generalised least squares (FGLS) and panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) are applied as robustness checks to validate the findings. The results consistently indicate that corruption control exerts a positive and significant effect on economic growth, operating through the strengthening of the investment climate, macroeconomic stability, and the effectiveness of public policies. These findings underscore the importance of prioritising anti-corruption reforms, strengthening the rule of law, improving human capital quality, and enhancing the productivity of public spending as central pillars of sustainable economic development in the region.

How to cite this article

Sutjipto, H., Didu, S., Ginanjar, R. A. F., Chendrawan, T. S. & Kustanto, A. (2026). Control of Corruption and Economic Growth in Developing ASEAN Countries. Economic Thought Journal, 71 (2), 300–329. https://doi.org/10.56497/etj2671205

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