The role of the public administration in fighting corruption

International Journal of Public Sector Management

Volumn 10, Issue 4-5, 1997, Pages 311-330

  Stapenhurst, Frederick ^a   Langseth, Petter ^a  

^a WORLD BANK   (United States)

Author keywords

Accountability; Bribery; Corruption; Economics; National cultures; Public sector

Indexed keywords

EID: 0343436329     PISSN: 09513558     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/09513559710172131     Document Type: Article

References (38)

1. Rose-Ackerman, S., "Redesigning the State to fight corruption", Viewpoint (World Bank), No. 75, May 1996.
2. Rose-Ackerman, S., "The political economy of corruption: causes and consequences", Viewpoint (World Bank), No. 74, April 1996.
3. Gould, D.J. and Amaro-Reyes, J., "The effects of corruption on administrative performance: illustrations from developing countries", World Bank Working Paper No. 580, The World Bank, Washington, DC, 1983.
4. Stapenhurst, F., "Public participation in fighting corruption" (forthcoming).
5. Corruption in the private sector is outside the scope of this paper.
6. Klitgaard, R., "Adjusting to reality: beyond State versus market", in Economic Development, International Center for Economic Growth, San Francisco, CA, 1991.
7. Husted, B.W., "Honor among thieves", BusinessEthics Quarterly, Vol. 1 No. 1, 1994, pp. 17-27.
8. Johnston, M., "The political consequences of corruption: a reassessment", Comparative Politics, July 1986, pp. 467-8.
9. Quah, J.S.T., "Bureaucratic corruption in the ASEAN countries: a comparative analysis of their anti-corruption strategies", Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 13 No. 1, 1982, pp. 153-77.
10. Siew-Wah, Y., "Some aspects of corruption", National Youth Leadership Training Institute Journal, January 1973, pp. 55-6.
11. Noonan, J.T., Bribes, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, 1984. This study of bribes records that reciprocities classified as bribes were censured, among others, in the ancient kingdoms of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Palestine and, even more harshly, in Cicero's Rome.
12. Mauro, P., "Corruption and growth", Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 109, 1995, pp. 681-712.
13. Wade, R., 'The system of administrative and political corruption: canal irrigation in South India" Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 18, 1982, pp. 287-327.
14. Manzetti, L. and Drake, C., "Market reforms and corruption in Latin America: new means for old ways", Review of International Political Economy (forthcoming).
15. Rubin, S.J., "International aspects of the control of illicit payments", Syracuse Journal of International Law and Governance, Vol. 9, 1982; pp. 315-21.
16. See also the rough figures suggested by Rose-Ackerman, S. in "Proposal for research in the level and impact of corruption in international business", presented at the annual meeting of Transparency International in Milan, 27-28 March 1995.
17. Le Monde, 17 March 1995. In the same issue, Le Monde reported that revenue authorities do not question commissions of up to 15 per cent of the global total of a contract.
18. The conventional view - which virtually relates poverty to dishonesty - is attacked vehemently by a number of critics, who see this alleged linkage as being little short of a blanket defamation of the poor. "Can a person not be poor yet honest?", they ask. They point to the fact that many officials remain honest. General Obasanjo observes that: "Sharp practices have characterized the banking industry in Nigeria in recent years. Most bank officials were more than well paid, yet their fraudulent and corrupt practices have been outrageous. Contrast these with other officials, much less well paid, who have maintained their integrity and incorruptibility throughout". See "Letters to the Editor", Financial Times, 14 October 1994.
19. Computerization has generally and substantially decreased the numbers on the public service payroll - for example, in Uganda.
20. Shleifer, A. and Vishney, R., "Pervasive shortages under Socialism", Rand Journal of Economics, Vol. 23, 1992, pp. 23746.
21. Montias, J.M., and Rose-Ackerman, S., "Corruption in a Soviet-type economy: theoretical considerations", in Rosenfielde, S. (Ed.), Economic Welfare and the Economics of Soviet Socialism: Essays in Honor of Abram Bergson, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1981.
22. The various ways in which this is done, including public procurement rules laid down by international lending institutions, are described in Moody-Stuart, G., Good Business Guide to Bribery, Transparency International, Berlin, 1994.
23. The case of Tanzania, where President Mkapa has demonstrated a strong commitment to the fight against corruption, is illustrative.
24. This list reflects the consensus view of participants at World Bank (EDI)/Transparency International seminars and workshops designed to promote national integrity.
25. Langseth, P., Stapenhurst, F. and Pope, J., "The role of a national integrity system in fighting corruption", EDI Staff Working Paper, The World Bank, Washington, DC, 1997.
26. Botswana falls into this category. Although corruption has not been a serious problem, in Botswana, when it did occur, swift remedial action was taken against the culprits and institutional arrangements were tightened and repaired. See TI Newsletter, June 1995.
27. Pope, J. (Ed.), The TI Source Book, Transparency International, Berlin, 1996.
28. Quah, J., "Singapore's experience in curbing corruption", in Heidenheimer, A.J. (Ed.), Public Corruption: A Source Book, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, 1989.
29. Langseth, P., "Civil service reform: experience from Uganda", World Bank Discussion Paper, The World Bank, Washington, DC, 1995.
30. Rose-Ackerman, S., Corruption: A Study in Political Economy, New York Academic Press, New York, NY, 1978.
31. Atkinson, M. and Mancuso, M., "Edicts and etiquette: regulating conflict of interest in Congress and the House of Commons", Corruption and Reform, Vol. 7 No. 1, 1992, pp. 1-18.
32. Such holidays were provided, for example, to purchasing staff at Britain's Ministry of Defence in the early 1990s.
33. Corrupt Practices Act, Section 3.
34. Rose-Ackerman, S., "Reducing bribery in the public sector", in Trang, D.V. (Ed), Corruption and Democracy, Institute for Constitutional and Legislative Policy, Budapest, 1994.
35. Several models are available as a starting point, including those of the GATT/World Trade Organization, the United Nations Committee on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the European Union, and a host of national codes.
36. Legislation can provide that the head of the agency be appointed either by the leaders of the governing and main opposition political parties, or in the same way as a superior court judge.
37. Hatchard, J., "The office of the Ombudsman", in National Human Rights Institutions in the Commonwealth, Commonwealth Secretariat, London, 1992.
38. House of Commons, "First Special Report from the Committee of Public Accounts, Session 1980-81", in The Role of the Comptroller and Auditor-General, Vol. I, Report, HMSO, London, 1981.