Corruption isn't the same everywhere, and America is an exception in the western world (along with italy).
It is partly caused by the (1) extreme levels of devolution; (2) politicisation of every level of public life (eg., even judges are elected); (3) barriers to removal of elected people from office.
Kind of a perfect storm: elect everything, make being directly elected sacred, and nearly impossible to undo.
In the UK almost everything is appointed, including the prime minister who is not directly elected to the office. The PM is then quite often removed from office, along with the whole class of unelected civil servants whose entire careers are spent working for the government regardless of who is in office.
The huge levels of institutional professionalisation this allows basically makes corruption nearly impossible.
> perceived levels of public sector corruption, according to experts and business people.
A major issue in corruption research is this "perception" point -- this method relativizes the definition, at best, and largely renders it useless.
The issue here is that Americans mostly think of corruption in terms of bribes, etc. rather than the "abuse of public trust".
eg., a judge decides to appoint a guardian with a conflict of interest to manage the estate of a elder person -- is that judge corrupt?
In the UK most people would say, "yes". In the US, "no". That while his action may not be the best / moral / right, etc. it's not seen as an abuse of the office -- he has the power to decide and therefore his decision isn't corrupt.
I think this view comes from the written-constitution approach to defining the powers of offices. In the UK many powers are held by convention and only under the assumption that they are being used justly -- an extra legal criterion.
It's very hard to measure corruption due to these issues. Personally I'd say most senior office holders appointed by trump are corrupt -- from the EPA to the FCC, to the consumer protection bureau. I think many people in the UK would agree: these appointees deliberately undermine the operation of these agencies -- and are therefore abusing the public trust.
(some) Americans however would see frustrating good government as a valid way to govern.
Under this "public trust" definition, corruption in america is routine and common place. From Sheriffs, to the police, to municipal and national executives. The trust placed in the office to execute it on behalf of the people is routinely abused.
Distinguish here: congress deciding not to have a CPB (, EPA, etc.) with an executive appointment to execute the mission of the CPB on behalf of the public.
It is partly caused by the (1) extreme levels of devolution; (2) politicisation of every level of public life (eg., even judges are elected); (3) barriers to removal of elected people from office.
Kind of a perfect storm: elect everything, make being directly elected sacred, and nearly impossible to undo.
In the UK almost everything is appointed, including the prime minister who is not directly elected to the office. The PM is then quite often removed from office, along with the whole class of unelected civil servants whose entire careers are spent working for the government regardless of who is in office.
The huge levels of institutional professionalisation this allows basically makes corruption nearly impossible.