Is corruption actually the problem? Perhaps nations with high levels of corruption are lacking basic legal institutions that tend to allow open market economie

Is corruption actually the problem? Perhaps nations with high levels of corruption are lacking basic legal institutions that tend to allow open market economies to function effectively. That is, corruption is simply a side-effect of institutional deficiency. Chris Blattman (http://chrisblattman.com/2012/11/05/corruption-and-development-not-what-you-think/ http://chrisblattman.com/2012/11/05/corruption-and-developme...) says: "Most of us fail to imagine that corruption can also grease the wheels of prosperity. Yet in places where bureaucracies and organizations are inefficient (meaning entrepreneurs and big firms struggle to transport or export or comply with regulation), corruption could improve efficiency and growth. Bribes can act like a piece rate or price discrimination, and give faster or better service to the firms with highest opportunity cost of waiting." Likewise John Wallis (http://www.nber.org/chapters/c9977.pdf http://www.nber.org/chapters/c9977.pdf) wrote an informative economic history paper about American corruption in 2006. The conclusion? "No society with a systematically corrupt political system has limited government. The economic system is always at risk, entry is limited, competition is fettered, and economic policies are shaped by politicians to maintain their political control of the government. Crony capitalism is not a manifestation of venal corruption—it is a symptom of systematic corruption."