Transmission Dynamics of Corruption in the Population by Using the Harmonic Mean Type Incident Rate and Optimal Control

ABSTRACT Corruption is a global issue that affects many countries, resulting in citizens losing their rights, faith in government authorities being undermined, resources being misallocated, and employment being terminated due to corruption. Although many countries have attempted to control corruption through various measures, the problem persists. In this study, we propose and analyze a deterministic mathematical model by considering the influence of the jury and the corrupted individual in spread of corruption dynamics with different optimal control strategies for corruption. The law of mass action to obtain the nonlinear ODEs after presenting a schematic representation of corruption dynamics. We studied positivity, boundedness, and equilibrium points. Next‐generation techniques are used to determine the reproduction number. This analysis indicates that a corruption‐free equilibrium exists asymptotically at both the local and global levels whenever . A numerical simulation indicates that the jury plays a significant role in reducing corruption in society. For the purpose of controlling and managing corruption in the population, this study investigates the impact of various optimal control strategies, such as awareness, rehabilitation, and strict law enforcement for corrupt individuals.