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Corruption and anti-corruption within social protection systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)

Corruption in social protection is multifaceted, encompassing political patronage, fraud in eligibility documentation and wasteful expenditures. In corrupt contexts, spending in education, healthcare and social protection declines, often disproportionately burning women, migrants and informal economy workers. Its impacts extend to poverty, inequality and an erosion of public trust. Evidence signals a recent shift to preventive anti-corruption strategies, blending traditional measures with emerging technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence.

5 March 2024
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Corruption and anti-corruption within social protection systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)

Main points

  • Social protection spending is significantly reduced in corrupt contexts. Petty pribery, collusion, clientelism and embezzlement are among the main forms of corruption affecting social protection schemes in LMICs.
  • The impact of corruption in social protection systems has severe implications on poverty and inequality levels and public trust in state institutions. Women, migrants, displaced persons and informal economy workers who rely heavily on public services are often disproportionately affected.
  • Evidence suggests a recent shift from punitive measures to preventive approaches. Best practices in curbing corruption in social protection systems point to use of emerging technologies along with traditional integrity and accountability tools such as legal frameworks, risk management systems, internal and external audits, whistleblowing or community and citizen engagement.

Cite this publication


Prusa, V. (2024) Corruption and anti-corruption within social protection systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Bergen: U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, Chr. Michelsen Institute (U4 Helpdesk Answer 2024:10)

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Vaclav Prusa

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All views in this text are the author(s)’, and may differ from the U4 partner agencies’ policies.

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

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