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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...

Rule of Law

Empowering citizens to report crime via SMS... what else can they do with mobiles?

Submitted by Alfredo on Fri, 2009-08-07 16:27

In a previous entry, I blogged about how mobile technology has been used to address some governance issues.  Crime denunciation was among the activities mentioned in which mobiles have empowered people by giving them a tool to report crime and violence outbreaks as they happen. 

Because a video is worth more than a thousand words, I'll share with you the case of CiviRep, an application that will allow citizens of Caracas to report crime via SMS.  Very similar to Ushahidi's platform, CiviRep aims at capturing on-the-go feedback from citizens to then map it with the help of Google Maps (see here Ushahidi's original example in Kenya).

 

CiviRep Team Video Spring 2009 from nextlab on Vimeo.

 

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...

Tackling deforestation and climate change, not without good governance

Submitted by Alfredo on Tue, 2009-07-07 09:27

Good governance has received little attention in the global agenda for climate change.  Yet, it seems that it is making its way, at least on climate change issues related to deforestation and forest degradation -which account for about 18 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

A study recently published by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IEED) states that "in many areas where deforestation and degradation are at their highest, governance is weak and is an underlying cause of deforestation and degradation."

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.

Did the financial crisis kill the governance reform agenda?

Submitted by Alfredo on Wed, 2009-05-27 09:36

A few days ago, Dani Rodrik opened an interesting discussion with his post "How the financial crisis has killed the governance reform agenda."  Basically what he says is that "we need to downplay the role of improved governance as a causal mechanism for economic growth." 

His main argument is that the financial crisis in the US did not only undercovered issues of capture and corruption in this country -as Simon Johnson and Dani Kaufmann have argued- but also showed that it is possible to be corrupt and rich at the same time.  Based on this evidence and on his previous belief that the causal relation between governance and growth was never proofed to be strog, he concluded that even though governance reform is a good thing to do, it should not be confused for a growth strategy.

From m-euphoria to m-governance, thinking about the potential of mobile technology

Submitted by Alfredo on Fri, 2009-03-27 10:55

The hype about mobile technology for development work is going on the rise.  It's not for granted.  More than four billion worldwide mobile subscriptions -with the fastest growth trend in developing countries-, sounds like a great opportunity to reach and interact with broader groups of people, including the poor.  Actually, mobile penetration in Africa has expanded from about 2 to 28 subscribers (per 100 inhabitants) since 2000 (see graph at the bottom). 

This looks like a great scenario, but putting aside the m-euphoria let's explore the role for mobile technology in the field of governance.

Capture and the Financial Crisis

Submitted by Kaufmann on Mon, 2009-03-09 17:41

There is no 'theory-independent' way of viewing reality.  We see and analyze world events through our own prism, shaped and tinted by upbringing, experiences, training and professional field of expertise. So it is not surprising that when it comes to the many explanations given for the current financial crisis, they differ greatly.

Violence and crime in Mexico at the crossroads of misgovernance, poverty and inequality

Submitted by Alfredo on Mon, 2009-03-02 06:32

"Hello, son, are you Ok?  We just got a phone call, and someone told us that one of our sons/daughters was kidnapped. We wanted to be sure that you are fine."  You can imagine how scary was the movement that these parents went through after they picked up the phone and received the ugly and unexpected message.  As sad as it sounds, this situation is something that some families in Mexico have experienced.  Sometimes they are lucky to find out that their relatives are fine, and that everything was faked by someone looking for a profit by creating confusion among relatives.  In other unfortunate cases, the message is real and families have to go through very difficult experiences that may last several months and that not always have a good outcome.

It's not new that Mexico is having problems with violence and crime, coming either from drug-cartels or from organized mafias of kidnappers and car thieves, among others.  It's also true that the entire country is not a jungle and lawless area where nobody is safe.

Over the last decade and a half, most of the approaches to solve these issues have looked at the rule of law and law enforcement elements of the equation.  Better legislation that penalizes these criminal activities; well paid, trained, appropriately equipped and not corrupted police corps; military support to fight drug-cartels; better prison's system that functions as social rehabilitation centers and not as universities of crime... and the list goes on.  This is a good direction to follow.  However, I've always told my friends and colleagues that there are other elements in the equation that also matter a lot, namely, poverty reduction and inequality.

Global Integrity's Grand Corruption Watch List and economic stimulus packages

Submitted by Nathaniel Heller on Fri, 2009-02-27 17:31

As Dani Kaufmann and others on this blog have rightly pointed out, the issues of “grand corruption” and “state capture” are increasingly being viewed as central to promoting more accountable and transparent governments, whether in the developing world or in wealthier countries.  The West has little to show to the developing world by way of successful models, and all countries clearly have plenty of homework to do when it comes to curbing the influence of special interests on the policy process.

In the Global Integrity Report: 2008, we created our first ever Grand Corruption Watch List. This list identifies 13 countries with exceptionally weak anti-corruption safeguards in key areas that lead us to worry about the potential for large-scale theft of public resources.  As national bailout programs and stimulus packages are being rolled out worldwide, these are the countries to keep a close eye on for disappearing funds at the highest levels of government.

From Madoff to Stanford Ponzi, from SEC to Congress: in dire need of political reforms

Submitted by Kaufmann on Wed, 2009-02-18 12:25

Another Ponzi scheme has allegedly been uncovered now, led by the Texas Financier R. A. Stanford, who may have swindled about 50,000 investors out of US $8 billion, or so.  The Feds have raided his house of cards but were having a hard time finding him. 

At US $50 billion, Madoff may have stood out because of the sheer magnitude of his scam.  But obviously he is not alone in large Ponzi schemes, not even within the US.  As global financial conditions have continued to deteriorate, the nakedness of those emperors without clothes is starkly exposed. 

But like the case of Madoff, this case also raises questions about whether ‘the SEC was asleep at the switch’ in this case as well.  Evidently allegations of fraud (and possible drug money laundering) have been made against Stanford over the past decade.  Yet the SEC took belated action very recently only after two former employees filed a lawsuit in civil court.