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In his book Out of America, Keith Richburg tells a joke explaining why Southeast Asia has prospered despite corruption and why Africa hasn't:

Two sons of rich politically connected families attend college in the United States together. One is from a Southeast Asian nation while the other is from Africa. Years later, they decide to visit each other to see how they've done.

First, the African man visits his friend in Southeast Asia. As he drives up the highway to the mansion, he sees five Mercedes Benz cars parked in front of a 20 bedroom mansion, with a staff of 20 servants. His friend invites him in and takes him out to the patio in the back, where a highway can be seen in the distance. He gestures toward the highway and says, "See that highway? 20 percent." (Indicating that he skimmed 20 percent from the cost of the highway.)

Then both friends travel to Africa, where they arrive at a mansion with ten Rolls Royce cars parked in front of a 50 bedroom mansion, with a staff of 100 servants. The African friend takes his Southeast Asian friend out to the patio in the back, where nothing but jungle can be seen. He gestures toward the jungle and says, "See that highway? 100 percent."

Basically, in Southeast Asia, the level of corruption is low enough that things still get done while in Africa, the level is so high that almost nothing gets done.