Strategies to control corruption in economic development: The role of government spending and public satisfaction

Abstract

The current efforts of various countries to promote economic development bring income to the nation, used for various government expenditures to further social development. However, economic development often comes with issues related to government corruption and misconduct. This study collects variables related to economic and social development and applies the DN-SBM (Dynamic Network Slack-Based Measure) to analyze the economic development efficiency of 20 European Union member states (referred to as EU20) through a two-stage approach. This model considers intertemporal carry-over variables across different periods and evaluates the impact of corruption on overall national economic development, leading to a more objective assessment. Through empirical analysis, the study explores the influence of economic and social development on overall national economic development. Additionally, it further analyzes each variable using Total-Factor Social Efficiency (TFSE) to understand the reasons influencing national economic development. Empirical findings indicate that some countries are efficient in economic development but inefficient in social development (e.g., Belgium, Denmark), while others are efficient in social development but inefficient in economic development (e.g., Estonia, Finland, France, Poland). TFSE analysis reveals that GDP, security expenditure, and corruption affect citizens' subjective well-being in these countries.