More than a quarter of the current Indian politicians face corruption charges. Local capture and fund diversion is a serious problem in the implementation of educational programmes in Tanzania and Ghana. In a World Bank survey in Latvia, more than 40 percent of households and enterprises agreed that “corruption is a natural part of our lives and helps solve many problems”. Anti-corruption interventions such as voter mobilisation campaigns and public disclosure of information interventions, in particular, are more successful in keeping corruption in check when votes are at stake.

However, local power dynamics and people’s perceptions of corruption influence how actively citizens engage in these programmes. Elite capture is another common problem that may prevent citizens from being actively engaged. This implies that local elites in collaboration with political officials could co-opt the programme. In the case of the Ugandan programme, there was elite capture in places where the head teachers used their high status in the community to steal funds along with the local officials.