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This is the World Bank's blog on governance and anti-corruption. It aims at providing a space for debate and knowledge sharing on this critical field of development. | Learn more...

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Arab Human Development Report 2009: Will improvement in Voice and Rights come from within?

Submitted by Kaufmann on Mon, 2009-08-03 20:57

A few weeks ago Obama went to Ghana and delivered a major speech to Africa.  He spoke candidly about the dire governance challenges faced by many countries in the continent.  I also noted that Obama was not explicit about the implications of his message for rethinking donor aid strategies to the continent. Hopefully such revamp in donor aid will be part of the follow through of his speech, if there is follow through.

A month before his momentous trip to Accra to address the Ghanian Parliament, Obama had gone to Cairo to deliver a major address to the Arab world.  It is a speech, which is also worth studying in depth.  But it was more muted and unfocused, refraining from being too direct on the governance and freedom deficits in the Arab world. For one, Obama is not seen as a prodigal son there, in contrast with how he is regarded by Africa...

Governance Matters 2009: Learning From Over a Decade of the Worldwide Governance Indicators

Submitted by Kaufmann on Mon, 2009-06-29 11:15

Today we are releasing the report Governance Matters VIII, which includes the new update of the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI).   Now collaborating from the Brookings Institution, I continue to take part in this research project with my former World Bank colleagues Aart Kraay and Massimo Mastruzzi.

International Anti-Corruption Day

Submitted by Alfredo on Tue, 2008-12-09 17:13

Today the world celebrates the International Anti-Corruption Day.  This has become a tradition since 2003, when 129 countries signed the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in Merida, Mexico, after working several years towards the creation of an international legal document against corruption.  Even though an anti-corruption spirit must be embraced at all places and times, today is a good moment to raise awareness about some of the vast and remaining challenges of corruption not only developing countries, but also in the most developed world.

At the Bank, the International Anti-Corruption Day has been a day of mixed feelings for many of us who are part of the governance and anti-corruption community.  A great leader such as Dani Kaufmann gave a farewell lecture (if couldn't attend, you can watch the B-SPAN video).  Yes, he is moving on soon to the Brookings Institution, but before that, he shared with us his always clear and accurate perspective on the main governance and corruption challenges that the world is facing.

The dilemmas of measuring corruption: is there an agreement of where should we move on?

Submitted by Alfredo on Thu, 2008-09-25 16:00

As corruption issues around the world seem to be endless, so is the debate about the best way to develop and use corruption indicators.  Whether aggregate or disaggregated; whether actionable or not; whether perception-based or experience-based; whether they should measure inputs or outputs; and whether assessments should be locally-owned or conducted by international institutions are just part of the on-going discussions in open forums and informal chats.

This month we witnessed the publication of two valuable efforts that move towards different directions on corruption measurement: (i) the 2008 Corruption Perception Index launched this week by Transparency International; and (ii) “A Users’ Guide to Measuring Corruption,” published at the beginning of this month by the UNDP Oslo Governance Centre and Global Integrity. 

While Transparency International’s approach relies on composite, cross-country and perception-based indicators, the User’s Guide suggests –among other things– the need for more locally owned assessments that capture the voice and experience of the poor and minority groups, as well as actionable measurements that give a better sense of what needs to be reformed.

Beijing Olympics and Governance: Eyes partially open?

Submitted by Kaufmann on Wed, 2008-08-13 17:20
The Russian invasion of Georgia, the leadership and human rights crises in Zimbabwe and Darfur, the coup in Mauritania, and even corruption in sports were some of the disparate problems touched in my last blog entry -- challenges which did not get any better over the past few days while medals continue to accumulate in Beijing. 
 
And I was not even trying to be exhaustive, so I did not mention other troubled spots right now, such as the hundreds killed in the ongoing and growing Pakistan-Taliban conflict in the Afghan border. Given how dire these current conflicts are, I was making a case for keeping our eyes wide open around the world, rejecting the notion that good governance can take a holiday at the time of the Olympics.