Challenging Corruption in Asia : Case Studies and a Framework for Action

Bhargava, Vinay ; Bolongaita, Emil

Washington, DC:World Bank

关键词: ACCOUNTABILITY;    AGGREGATE INDICATORS;    ANTI- CORRUPTION;    ANTI-CORRUPTION;    ANTICORRUPTION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/0-8213-5683-6
RP-ID  :  27580

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

At the economic level, corruption isseen as a contributing factor to the East Asian financialcrisis. The crisis focused people's attention on thestaggering impact of corruption, particularly in Indonesia,the Republic of Korea, and Thailand. The interlockingrelationship of business and government were previouslyviewed as part of the way of doing business and practicingpolitics-a useful partnership crucial to strategicpolicymaking. As one scholar noted, "Not too many yearsago, the economic successes of the countries of East Asiawere attributed by some observers to a presumably positiveimpact of corruption in facilitating decisionmaking".Many actors justified questionable practices by explainingthem to be necessary conditions for rapid economicdevelopment. Today those specific practices constitute theproblematic areas of corruption. At the political level,corruption has risen in recent years in national agendasbecause of its role in political developments. At one pointthe heads of government themselves of Indonesia, thePhilippines, and Thailand were in the dock oncorruption-related charges. Peaceful populist protest forcedthe Philippine president, Joseph Estrada, to step down inJanuary 2001. In July 2001 Indonesia's parliamentremoved President Abdurrahman Wahid from office partlybecause of corruption allegations. Thaksin Shinawatra, primeminister of Thailand, was indicted by the NationalCounter-Corruption Commission but was eventually acquittedin a controversial decision by the country'sConstitutional Court. In 2002 the convictions of two sons ofPresident Kim Dae-Jung of the Republic of Korea oncorruption charges tarnished the president'sachievements. Other high-level political leaders have alsobeen convicted recently on corruption-related charges inChina, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand.