November 04

Bribe Payers Index, 2011. Transparency International

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The 2011 bribe payers index ranks the likelihood of companies from 28 leading economies to win business abroad by paying bribes. http://bpi.transparency.org/

The Bribe Payers Index is a unique tool capturing the supply side of international bribery, specifically focussing on bribes paid by the private sector. The 2011 Bribe Payers Index is the fifth edition of the index, ranking 28 of the world’s largest economies according to the likelihood of firms from these countries to bribe when doing business abroad. It is based on the results of Transparency International’s 2011 Bribe Payers Survey. This asked 3,016 senior business executives in 30 countries around the world for their perceptions of the likelihood of companies, from countries they have business dealings with, to engage in bribery when doing business in the executive’s country.

The 28 countries and territories ranked in the index are: Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States. The countries include the largest economies in terms of outward trade and investment and together represent 78 per cent of global foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows and exports. They cover all countries ranked in the 2008 Bribe Payers Index, all G20 countries and other key regional economic trading powers.

South Africa scores 7.6

The Bribe Payers Index scores are anchored to the 0 – 10 parameters of the scale. A score of 0 corresponds with the perceptions of business people around the world that companies from that country always pay bribes when doing business abroad. A score of 10 corresponds with the perception that companies from that country never engage in bribery when doing business abroad. A score of 10 is therefore the benchmark which every country should aim for, as anything less than a 10 is an indication that companies from these countries are perceived to engage in bribery to some degree when doing business across borders. Scores that fall significantly short of a 10 indicate a serious problem, suggesting that companies from these countries are likely to engage in foreign bribery so frequently that it is recognised by the business executives whose perceptions constitute the 2011 Bribe Payers Index.
June 15

Global Witness Exposes Corrupt Exploitation Of Natural Resources And International Trade Systems

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Global Witness exposes the : , to drive campaigns that end impunity, resource-linked conflict, and human rights and environmental abuses.

Global Witness was the first organisation that sought to break the links between the exploitation of natural resources, and conflict and corruption; and the results of our investigations and our powerful lobbying skills have been not only a catalyst, but a main driver behind most of the major international mechanisms and initiatives that have been established to address these issues; including the Kimberley Process and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).  Global Witness is largely responsible for natural resources occupying the prominent role in the international agenda that they currently do.

And away from the policy arena, Global Witness' hard-hitting investigations have had direct and major impacts, such as the IMF withdrawal from Cambodia in 1996 over corruption in the logging industry, the imposition of timber sanctions on Charles Taylor's Liberia in 2003, and the precedent-setting arrest of timber baron Gus Kouwenhoven, in the Netherlands in 2005.

Despite the great strides made in the first decade of Global Witness' existence, the struggle to ensure that natural resource exploitation is equitable and sustainable is still in its early stages. Resource-fuelled wars such as those that shattered the DRC, Liberia, Angola and Cambodia could happen again tomorrow, and add to a death toll that has topped over six million since the late 1990's, because the international community has not addressed the trade in conflict resources.

The competition between the old and emerging powers to secure the world's remaining oil reserves is escalating, perhaps dangerously so. The scramble by extractive industries to secure exploitation rights over the world's mineral wealth, whilst at the same time resisting any kind of regulation that would enforce good practice, threatens some of the planet's poorest populations, whilst the world's dwindling forests, home to millions of people and reservoirs of biodiversity, continue to face an onslaught by some of the most corrupt regimes and companies, bent on satisfying an insatiable demand for timber regardless of cost.

Natural resources could be the key to ending Africa's poverty, and making it, and other areas of the developing world, the economic powerhouses they should be. But Global Witness believes that neither governments nor industry have shown the leadership or the vision to create the sea change in the international architecture that is necessary to make natural resources a benefit and not a curse. Global Witness also believes that this sea change is possible, and it is for this reason that we are continuing to deploy the accumulated thinking, experience and skill that we have developed over the past decade, to help bring about this change. There is no alternative.

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November 13

Graft In Developing-Country Firms

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The incidence of graft on developing-country firms
Source: World Bank Policy Research Working Papers

This paper measures the extent to which firms in developing countries are the target of bribes. Using new firm-level survey data from 33 African and Latin American countries, we first show that perceptions adjust slowly to firms’ experience with corrupt officials and hence are an imperfect proxy for the true incidence of graft. We then construct an experience-based index that reflects the probability that a firm will be asked for a bribe in order to complete a specified set of business transactions. On average, African firms are three times as likely to be asked for bribes as are firms in Latin America, although there is substantial variation within each region. Last, we show that graft appears to be more prevalent in countries with excessive regulation and where democracy is weak. In particular, our results suggest that the incidence of graft in Africa would fall by approximately 85 percent if countries in the region had levels of democracy and regulation similar to those that exist in Latin America.

+ Full Paper (PDF; 950 KB)

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October 29

The Ibrahim Index Of African Governance

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Ibrahim Index of African Governance

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance is published by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. It measures the performance of government in 48 African nations South of the Sahara. Five major categories are covered Security; rule of law, transparency and corruption; participation and human rights; sustainable economic development and human development. It is possible to view country charts, comparative tables; statistical data and associated maps form 2000 onwards free of charge from the website. Information on methodology is provided. From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/index/index.asp

October 11

China’S Future: The Threat Of Corruption

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Corruption Threatens China’s Future
Source: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Failure to contain endemic corruption among Chinese officials poses one of the most serious threats to the nation’s future economic and political stability, says a new report from the Carnegie Endowment. Minxin Pei, an expert on economic reform and governance in China, argues that corruption not only fuels social unrest and contributes to the rise in socioeconomic inequality, but holds major implications beyond its borders for foreign investment, international law, and environmental protection.

In Corruption Threatens China’s Future, Pei paints a sobering picture of corruption in China, where roughly 10 percent of government spending, contracts, and transactions is estimated to be used as kickbacks and bribes, or simply stolen. He examines the root causes for China’s rampant corruption—partial economic reforms, lax enforcement efforts, and reluctance by the Communist Party to adopt political reforms—and the ensuing economic losses and jeopardized financial stability.

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October 11

Global Organization Against Corruption (GOPAC)

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Global Organization Against Corruption (GOPAC)  is an international network of members of parliament who are working to promote good governance and eliminate political corruption worldwide. The website provides information on the aims, organisation and recent activities of the body. It offers free access to reports from committees, resolutions, briefing papers and reports on this topic. Key issues include: money and politics (political donations, political funding); political ethics, parliamentary privilege and immunity, and transparency of govenment. It is particularly good at highlighting developments in developing nations and the non-western world. From Intute.ac.uk
http://www.gopacnetwork.org
June 27

Construction Industry & Corruption

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Construction, corruption, and developing countries
Source: World Bank Policy Research Working Paper (More)
June 13

UNESCO Report: Corrupt Schools, Corrupt Universities

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According to a report published by UNESCO's International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) Corrupt Schools, Corrupt Universities: What Can be Done? education is "an endangered resource." (More)
June 09

Global Corruption Report 2007 [Pdf]

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The international organization Transparency International is well-known for its distinguished work on investigating corruption around the world, and this latest report from their research team is timely and tremendously valuable...

http://www.transparency.org/content/download/19093/263155

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April 18

Corruption: Low Income Countries

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Understanding Political Corruption in Low Income Countries
Source: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Faculty Research Working Paper Series (More)