Influence of Rule of Law, Government Effectiveness and Political Stability on Corruption Control in ASEAN Countries: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

This research consists purposes were 1. to examine the institutional relationships between the rule of law, government effectiveness, and political stability and corruption control in ASEAN countries and 2. to compare the relative importance of legal factors and state administrative effectiveness in controlling corruption within the context of political stability and economic development. This study employed a quantitative research design. The research instrument consisted of a secondary data recording form developed by the researcher to compile indicators from international databases. The study utilized secondary data drawn from the Worldwide Governance Indicators database and global development indicator reports of the World Bank. The sample comprised 11 countries, including ASEAN member states and Timor-Leste, selected through purposive sampling. The data covered a 12-year period from 2012 to 2023. Data were analyzed using a fixed-effects regression model, and estimation errors were adjusted using robust standard errors. The results indicate that 1) government effectiveness is the only institutional factor that exhibits a statistically significant positive relationship with corruption control (β = 0.440, p-value = 0.0237), the rule of law and political stability do not show statistically significant relationships when jointly estimated in the same model (β = 0.345, p-value = 0.1406, and β = 0.005, p-value = 0.9245, respectively) and 2) the level of economic development (GDP per capita) does not have a statistically significant effect on reducing corruption in this context. These findings suggest that the influence of formal legal frameworks (de jure) may be attenuated when considered alongside the state’s de facto administrative capacity, partly due to structural overlap among governance indicators. The results highlight that enhancing public sector capacity and adopting digital technologies are more critical for corruption control than focusing solely on legal reforms or economic growth.