Fostering Institutions to Contain Corruption
Corruption can never be completely or permanently eliminated. The question is, how can it be controlled? How can a country move from a situation where corruption may be the norm to a situation where corruption is morally intolerable and behaviorall...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/1999/06/828296/fostering-institutions-contain-corruption http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11475 |
| Summary: | Corruption can never be completely or
permanently eliminated. The question is, how can it be
controlled? How can a country move from a situation where
corruption may be the norm to a situation where corruption
is morally intolerable and behaviorally rare? To control
corruption, the expected costs of engaging in corruption
must be dramatically increased. Public officals must
perceive a substantial risk that if they engage in corrupt
conduct they will lose their offices, forfeit illegally
acquired wealth, and even go to prison. Implementing such
sanctions aganist corruption requires an institutional
framework to control corruption. Effective and durable
corruption control requires multiple, reinforcing, and
overlapping institutions of accountability. Where corruption
is endemic, these institutions need to be of three kinds:
horizontal accountability, vertical accountability, and
external accountability. The primary institutions of
horizontal accountability are the law, anti-corruption
bodies, the ombudsman's office, public audits, and the
judicial system. Institutions of vertical accountability
include an independent electoral commission, independent
mass media, and nongovernmental organizations. External
accountability encompasses extensive international scrutiny
and support. |
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