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The aim of the paper is to determine the effect of corruption on extreme wealth of individuals included in Forbes list of super-rich over the period 2006-2015. The methodology used is sys-GMM since it allows to control heterogeneity/ endogeneity among individuals. Three novel and different measures of direct corruption are used. The main finding shows that structural corruption positively affects individual extreme wealth, in a context of political/institutional, economic and personal factors. Although it is identified that sporadic or one-time corruption limits extreme wealth. Nevertheless, it is also found that the extreme accumulation is based on a combination of factors, such as meritocratic, non-meritocratic, and personal traits. In any case, this tends to perpetuate the corrupt systems and their accumulated effect on elites. Based on the foregoing, this research recommends certain corruption control mechanisms such as: the establishment of a global tax on extreme wealth, teamwork between the company, civil society and the government, public and private anti-corruption measures and a public investment of high quality that promotes more public well-being.

Mexico, among the OECD countries, is the country with the greatest difference in income between rich and poor. This situation has been accompanied by high levels of perception of corruption. The goal is to show that corruption and income inequality are correlated. The estimates are affected by the endogeneity problem caused by the two-way causality of corruption and income inequality, and by measurement errors of the variable used for corruption. Therefore, the method of simultaneous equations is used and it is estimated by error-component two stage least squares (EC2SLS), alternatively the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) and sys-GMM are used, to analyze the sensitivity of the results. Robust evidence is found of a positive relationship between corruption and income inequality in Mexico in the period 2010-2020., México, entre los países de la OCDE, es el país que presenta la mayor diferencia de ingresos entre ricos y pobres. Esta situación ha venido acompañada de altos niveles en la percepción de corrupción. El objetivo es demostrar que la corrupción y la desigualdad de ingresos están correlacionadas. Las estimaciones se ven afectadas por el problema de endogeneidad originada por la causalidad bidireccional de la corrupción y la desigualdad de ingresos y por los errores de medición de la variable utilizada para la corrupción. Por ello, se emplea el método de ecuaciones simultáneas y se estima mediante Mínimos Cuadrados en Dos Etapas con Componentes en el Error (MC2ECE), alternativamente se emplea el Método Generalizado de Momentos (GMM, por sus siglas en inglés) y sys-GMM, para analizar la sensibilidad de los resultados. Se encuentra evidencia robusta de una relación positiva entre corrupción y desigualdad de ingresos en México en el periodo de 2010-2020

The paper estimates the effect of corruption in the host country on flows of direct foreign investment (FDI), input and output. The objective is to demonstrate if corruption is a vehicle that attracts FDI or, on the contrary, it is a mechanism that inhibits these capitals. A panel methodology System of Generalized Methods of Moments (Sys-GMM) is used for 126 countries classified by the income level for the 1996-2016 period. It is shown that corruption has the effect of attracting inward-FDI and preventing outward-FDI, having a positive effect on net FDI. There is also a significant difference in the sensitivity of FDI to corruption among groups of countries, El documento estima el efecto de la corrupción en el país anfitrión sobre los flujos de inversión extranjera directa (IED), entrada y salida. El objetivo es demostrar si la corrupción es un vehículo que atrae IED o, por el contrario, es un mecanismo que inhibe estos capitales. Se utiliza un sistema de metodología de panel de Método Generalizado de Momentos (Sys-GMM) para 126 países clasificados por nivel de ingresos para el período 1996-2016. Se muestra que la corrupción tiene el efecto de incentivar la entrada y desinhibir la salida de la IED, lo que tiene un efecto positivo en la IED neta. También existe una diferencia significativa en la sensibilidad de la IED a la corrupción entre grupos de países