Anti-Corruption Policies and Programs : A Framework for Evaluation

Huther, Jeff ; Shah, Anwar

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ACCOUNTABILITY;    ANTI- CORRUPTION;    ANTI-CORRUPTION;    ANTI-CORRUPTION ACTIONS;    ANTI-CORRUPTION STRATEGY;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-2501
RP-ID  :  WPS2501

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The anti-corruption strategy the WorldBank announced in September 1997 defined corruption as the"use of public office for private gain" and calledfor the Bank to address corruption along four dimensions: 1)Preventing fraud and corruption in Bank projects; 2) Helpingcountries that request Bank assistance for fightingcorruption; 3) Mainstreaming a concern about corruption inBank work; and 4) Lending active support to internationalefforts to address corruption. The menu of possible actionsto contain corruption (in both countries and Bank projects)is very large, so the authors develop a framework to helpassign priorities, depending on views of what does and doesnot work in specific countries. Their framework, based onpublic officials' incentives for opportunisticbehavior, distinguishes between highly corrupt and largelycorruption-free societies. Certain conditions encouragepublic officials to seek or accept corruption: a) Theexpected gains from undertaking a corrupt act exceed theexpected costs. b) Little weight is placed on the cost thatcorruption imposes on others. In a country with heavycorruption and poor governance, the priorities inanti-corruption efforts would then be to establish rule oflaw, strengthen institutions of participation andaccountability, and limit government interventions to focuson core mandates. In a country with moderate corruption andfair governance, the priorities would be decentralizationand economic reform, results-oriented management andevaluation, and the introduction of incentives forcompetitive delivery of public services. In a country withlittle corruption and strong governance, the prioritiesmight be explicit anti-corruption agencies and programs,stronger financial management, increased public andgovernment awareness, no-bribery pledges, efforts to fry the"big fish," and so on.