tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/corruption-perception-index-4637/articlesCorruption Perception Index – The Conversation2024-02-12T02:20:48Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229952024-02-12T02:20:48Z2024-02-12T02:20:48ZA slide in global corruption rankings is bad for ‘Brand NZ’ – what can the government do?<p>In 2010, then US secretary of state Hillary Clinton <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/clinton-nz-punches-way-above-its-weight/IIL2CO557CQ7WFK7WVJHJRFH7U/">famously described</a> New Zealand as a country that “punches way above its weight”. She was referring to our role in international relations, global security and natural disaster responses. But she was also talking about the country’s international reputation for being clean, green, safe and honest.</p>
<p>New Zealand has long enjoyed the economic and reputational benefits of these attributes. But recent rankings measuring the country’s international influence, transparency and corruption have started to tell a different story.</p>
<p>Between 2021 and 2023, New Zealand dropped ten places – from 16 to 26 – on the <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/03/new-zealand-takes-another-plunge-in-global-soft-power-rankings.html">Global Soft Power Index</a>. This measures a country’s influence abroad (among nation states, societies and international corporations) through its use of non-coercive measures.</p>
<p>Also, for the first time in a decade, New Zealand has <a href="https://www.transparency.org.nz/blog/new-zealands-score-slips-in-latest-corruption-perceptions-index-now-ranked-third">dropped to third place</a> in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which <a href="https://www.transparency.org/en/news/how-cpi-scores-are-calculated">measures perceived levels</a> of corruption in the public sector. </p>
<p>That puts New Zealand five points below Denmark in first spot, and two below Finland. What’s going on, and what are the political and economic implications?</p>
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<h2>Brand New Zealand</h2>
<p>According to the 2023 Anholt-Ipsos <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/en/nation-brands-index-2023">Nation Brand Index</a>, New Zealand is the 14th most valuable country brand in the world, valued at close to <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/130054566/new-zealands-brand-worth-440-billion-but-what-exactly-is-brand-nz">half a trillion New Zealand dollars</a> in 2022 by brand valuation and strategy company Brand Finance.</p>
<p>Indeed, “Brand New Zealand” – a carefully crafted and closely curated mix of national storytelling, strategic marketing and cross-sector investment – was a key driver behind the NZ$68.7 billion in exports of goods in 2023. On top of that, it drives a large part of the NZ$15 billion spent by tourists, and NZ$6 billion generated by overseas students.</p>
<p>Brand New Zealand is a precious commodity in its own right, which has taken many decades to build. But it can be quickly squandered, particularly through poor governance.</p>
<p>Enjoying levels of trust in public institutions <a href="https://ogp.org.nz/latest-news/ogpnz-26-july-2022-update-latest-trust-and-confidence-results">above the OECD average</a> has meant New Zealand takes pride in being recognised among the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/02/these-are-the-20-least-corrupt-countries-on-earth/">least corrupt countries</a> around the world.</p>
<p>The corruption ranking in turn affects the cost of accessing finance by countries, which eventually trickles down to household mortgages. It also influences public policies, public and private investment decisions, and market entry decisions by international firms (such as Ikea and Amazon).</p>
<p>Since 2014, New Zealand has dropped six points in its CPI score, three times more than Denmark or Finland. That’s not a trend we’d want to see continue.</p>
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<h2>Perceptions matter</h2>
<p>Corruption, defined as the misuse of authority for personal or organisational gain, reflects illegal activities which are purposefully hidden from the public and uncovered only through investigation, persecution or when a scandal erupts.</p>
<p>The CPI is based on expert assessment and opinion surveys from many different corruption studies by reputable global institutions, including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and the Economist Intelligence Unit.</p>
<p>A higher CPI score implies a lower level of perceived corruption. The aggregation of different indices makes the CPI more reliable than any single source.</p>
<p>New Zealand’s country credit risk rating – measured by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and which represents the single largest component of a country’s CPI score – has not dropped (yet). </p>
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<p>But its two-point CPI slide from 87 to 85 is driven by perceptions among business leaders, as captured by the most recent World Economic Forum’s executive opinion survey taken in August 2023.</p>
<p>The survey asks those leaders to report on any pressures to make undocumented extra payments or bribes, and instances of untoward diversion of public funds to groups, firms or individuals.</p>
<p>CEO of Transparency International New Zealand, Julie Haggie, <a href="https://www.transparency.org.nz/blog/new-zealands-score-slips-in-latest-corruption-perceptions-index-now-ranked-third">attributes the 2023 drop</a> in business leaders’ confidence to three specific factors:</p>
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<li><p>several high-profile cases of COVID-19 subsidy fraud and tax evasion by businesses</p></li>
<li><p>the government’s insufficient response to a rise in scamming, as well as a lack of transparency around government spending on outside consultation contracts and infrastructure projects</p></li>
<li><p>and a heightened focus on appropriate spending of public funds during a cost-of-living crisis when most New Zealanders are doing it tough.</p></li>
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<h2>Trust in government</h2>
<p>New Zealand’s CPI score (85) still warrants an A grade. But the long-term slide should not be ignored. We need to understand it as part of a <a href="https://www.transparency.org/en/news/cpi-2023-asia-pacific-stagnation-due-to-inadequate-anti-corruption-commitments">wider trend</a> of stagnation across the Asia Pacific. </p>
<p>In 2023, the region received a failing grade, with an average CPI score of just 45 – dragged down by North Korea (CPI: 17), Myanmar (20) and Afghanistan (20). </p>
<p>Transparency International also highlighed the “slow decline” of top performing countries in the region – New Zealand, followed by Singapore (CPI: 83), Australia and Hong Kong (both 75). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-ranking-in-global-anti-corruption-index-remains-steady-but-shows-we-cannot-be-complacent-222259">Australia's ranking in global anti-corruption index remains steady – but shows we cannot be complacent</a>
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<p>New Zealand’s latest CPI score may not yet reflect any erosion of public trust brought on by the coalition government’s <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-detail/story/2018923991/the-treaty-of-waitangi-articles-principles-changes">policies around revisiting</a> the Treaty of Waitangi principles. But it must still be mindful of the fragility of general trust in public institutions and the government. </p>
<p>Damaging that trust can have unintended consequences for our international reputation. It could <a href="https://theconversation.com/perceptions-of-corruption-are-growing-in-australia-and-its-costing-the-economy-176562">potentially cost</a> the country thousands of jobs, drive away talent, and dampen export growth.</p>
<p>There is a tension here, too. Cutting public spending by between 6.5% and 7.5%, as government agencies have been <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/507659/the-public-service-agencies-asked-to-cut-spending">told to do</a>, may be viewed positively by business leaders. But it can also erode public trust in government.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/artificial-intelligence-and-corporate-social-responsibility-can-strengthen-anti-corruption-efforts-177883">Artificial intelligence and corporate social responsibility can strengthen anti-corruption efforts</a>
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<h2>Turning the trend around</h2>
<p>To halt or reverse the slide, New Zealand might look to Australia. While it placed 14th in the latest Transparency International ranking (with a CPI score of 75), Australia has gained two points under the Albanese Labor government.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://theconversation.com/after-a-decade-of-decline-australia-is-back-on-the-rise-in-a-global-anti-corruption-ranking-198305">marked a turnaround</a> in previously declining CPI scores. It was driven by the establishment of a new federal anti-corruption commission, and significant changes to whistle-blowing protection.</p>
<p>As New Zealanders learn about the sometimes messy inner power dynamics of a three-way coalition, one thing is clear: the government would be wise to assure the domestic and international public that there is no risk of state capture by specific interest groups, such as tobacco, the military industrial complex, or foreign property developers.</p>
<p>State capture by vested interest groups is a form of public corruption and would likely significantly affect New Zealand’s declining CPI score. Again, public perceptions count as much as reality in such cases.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222995/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matevz (Matt) Raskovic does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New Zealand has dropped six points on the main global index of perceived corruption. To turn that around, the government must guard against state capture by vested interests.Matevz (Matt) Raskovic, Associate Professor of International Business & Strategy, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2222592024-01-30T06:02:59Z2024-01-30T06:02:59ZAustralia’s ranking in global anti-corruption index remains steady – but shows we cannot be complacent<p>Successfully tackling corruption is more than catching greedy public servants and politicians, miscreants and manipulators. It involves government at the highest level advancing a culture of integrity and setting up institutions that celebrate and facilitate good governance – in addition to catching the bad guys.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2023">latest Corruption Perceptions Index</a> – an annual survey from Transparency International that tracks how corrupt governments are perceived to be – shows Australia still has a way to go on this front.</p>
<p>Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway and Singapore came out on top in the latest survey of 180 countries, while South Sudan, Venezuela, Syria and Somalia were at the bottom. </p>
<p>Australia came in at 14th place with a score of 75 out of 100, which is the same score as last year. Zero is considered highly corrupt, while 100 is very clean.</p>
<p>In 2012, Australia had ranked an impressive seventh in the world with a score of 85. By 2021, however, we had fallen to 18th with a score of 73. </p>
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<p>The election of the Albanese government with its commitment to establish a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-national-anti-corruption-commission-faces-high-expectations-and-a-potential-mountain-of-work-208019">National Anti-Corruption Commission</a> brought a boost to our anti-corruption reputation last year, vaulting us back up to 13th position. But we’ve levelled off in this year’s report.</p>
<p>While Australia is still ranked ahead of countries like Japan, Iceland, the UK, France and the US, it appears those who assess our anti-corruption efforts are still waiting to ensure we are truly turning the corner. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-and-norway-were-once-tied-in-global-anti-corruption-rankings-now-were-heading-in-opposite-directions-174966">Australia and Norway were once tied in global anti-corruption rankings. Now, we're heading in opposite directions</a>
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<h2>The anti-corruption commission is just the first step</h2>
<p>The Corruption Perceptions Index is not a measure of corruption, but is a perceptions index. It is globally used and respected. Using rigorous <a href="https://images.transparencycdn.org/images/2019_CPI_methodology.pdf">methodology</a>, the index compiles independent assessments of a country’s efforts to prevent and control corruption by business leaders and experts. It then scores and ranks countries.</p>
<p>Twenty-five years ago, when I was director of the Australian Institute of Criminology, I was berated by a senior official who said, “You have been director of the AIC for five years and crime is still a serious problem in our community. What a hopeless performance. You have failed miserably!” </p>
<p>Turning around a long-term trend is not something that occurs overnight, and of course, there are many factors that contribute to a country’s corruption score.</p>
<p>The National Anti-Corruption Commission, for example, is not the magic bullet that alone will restore Australia’s good standing on the global stage. Its establishment sends a signal that the government is serious about stamping out corruption, but it will take time to see results. </p>
<p>The previous government had been embroiled in a number of scandals, including “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/21/sports-rorts-coalition-approved-at-least-six-grants-without-an-application-form-documents-reveal">sports rorts</a>”, “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-car-park-rorts-story-is-scandalous-but-it-will-keep-happening-unless-we-close-grant-loopholes-164779">carpark rorts</a>”, <a href="https://theconversation.com/amateurish-rushed-and-disastrous-royal-commission-exposes-robodebt-as-ethically-indefensible-policy-targeting-vulnerable-people-201165">Robodebt</a>, the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-21/federal-government-western-sydney-airport-audit-office/12686208">Leppington triangle land purchase scandal</a>, and workplace accountability and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-30/sexual-haassment-report-parliament-brittany-higgins/100660894">sexual harassment</a> issues. </p>
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<p>While it’s important to investigate these allegations of wrongdoing, the National Anti-Corruption Commission cannot stop every bad policy or practice. The real challenge is how to make sure those in government do the right thing – not because they are told to, but because they want to, and see it as a mark of ethical and responsive government.</p>
<p>Promoting integrity is bigger than the National Anti-Corruption Commission. It is part of the job of every political and public service leader and manager, and it trickles down to the lowest levels of government. This is where the Australian Public Service Commission can be effective – it has taken on board the challenge of creating a framework to better promote integrity within government.</p>
<p>Some sectors are more prone to corruption than others, such as those that engage in significant procurements, extend discretionary benefits to clients, or issue licences and permits. A mapping exercise could better identify these sectors, along with the associated red flags and risks.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/perceptions-of-corruption-are-growing-in-australia-and-its-costing-the-economy-176562">Perceptions of corruption are growing in Australia, and it's costing the economy</a>
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<h2>Election financing and whisteblower reforms</h2>
<p>We also need to look at the bigger picture beyond government services. I wrote last year about a <a href="https://transparency.org.au/australias-national-integrity-system/">blueprint for action</a> emanating from a research team led by A J Brown, an anti-corruption and whistleblowing expert. </p>
<p>While the National Anti-Corruption Commission is a first step, we still need to implement reforms on <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/major-overhaul-looms-to-keep-big-money-out-of-politics-20230608-p5df77.html">election financing</a>, foreign bribery and <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-awash-with-dirty-money-heres-how-to-close-the-money-laundering-loopholes-206606">anti-money laundering regulations</a>, and <a href="https://consultations.ag.gov.au/integrity/pswr-stage2/">protections for whistleblowers</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-national-anti-corruption-commission-faces-high-expectations-and-a-potential-mountain-of-work-208019">The new National Anti-Corruption Commission faces high expectations – and a potential mountain of work</a>
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<p>The Australian Electoral Commission was <a href="https://www.apsc.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/workforce-information/research-analysis-and-publications/state-service/state-service-report-2023/agency-benchmarking/trust-and-satisfaction-australian-public-services#:%7E:text=The%20Australian%20Electoral%20Commission%20had,service%20provided%20through%20Services%20Australia.">listed</a> in the latest Australian Public Service Commission survey as the nation’s most trusted public service. However, there is more the commission should be able to do if the government makes the appropriate policy decisions on election reform. </p>
<p>If trust in the electoral system is eroded, then our democracy is in real trouble and integrity will fly out of the window. </p>
<p>Three areas need attention: </p>
<p>1) We need limits on campaign financing and better regulation of political donations. It is essential for our government’s integrity that a campaign donation is a donation, not a transaction. </p>
<p>2) Donations need to be disclosed in real time. We need to know who is cosying up to the parties as it happens, not months later. </p>
<p>3) We need stronger regulations to monitor truth in political advertising, in particular on social media. </p>
<p>Ranking 14th on the latest Corruption Perceptions Index is pretty good, but it should absolutely not be a reason to be complacent. Australia can do better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222259/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam Graycar has received funding from the Australian Research Council. He is a member of Transparency International. </span></em></p>After rising five places in last year’s influential Corruption Perceptions Index, Australia has levelled off this year. This shows much work remains to be done.Adam Graycar, Professor of Public Policy, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1983052023-01-31T05:02:16Z2023-01-31T05:02:16ZAfter a decade of decline, Australia is back on the rise in a global anti-corruption ranking<p>Just months after Australia legislated to establish the long-anticipated National Anti-Corruption Agency, our standing is back on the rise in Transparency International’s <a href="https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2022">annual Global Corruption Perceptions Index</a>. This is a small but important turn-around following a decade of steady decline.</p>
<p>Australia ranked 13th out of 180 countries in the index released today, up from a low of 18th last year. The index ranks countries on their perceived levels of public sector corruption – the higher the score, the less perceived corruption.</p>
<p>Australia was ranked as high as seventh in 2012. But since then, the country has been trending downward. From 2012 to 2021, Australia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/25/australia-records-its-worst-ever-score-on-anti-corruption-index-after-decline-to-match-hungarys">dropped 12 points on the index</a>, more than any OECD country apart from Hungary, which also fell 12 points. The only countries to have fallen by more are Syria, Cyprus and Saint Lucia. </p>
<p>It’s no coincidence Australia’s big fall happened during the Coalition’s near-decade-long hold on the federal government, though local events like the quagmire around <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/19/former-nsw-labor-ministers-eddie-obeid-and-ian-macdonald-found-guilty-of-corruption-charges">former NSW Labor minister Eddie Obeid</a> also sent bad signals. </p>
<p>Turning the results around isn’t a quick fix. But the fact Australia has arrested the decline and is headed back up the list is significant, though not a matter for complacency.</p>
<p>The biggest collapse this year was the UK, whose ranking fell dramatically from 11th to 20th, with a loss of 5 points. This shows that resolve and actions of government affect global perceptions of corruption.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-and-norway-were-once-tied-in-global-anti-corruption-rankings-now-were-heading-in-opposite-directions-174966">Australia and Norway were once tied in global anti-corruption rankings. Now, we're heading in opposite directions</a>
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<h2>Where we’ve faltered</h2>
<p>The Corruption Perceptions Index isn’t a direct measure of corruption, but a perceptions index. Using rigorous <a href="https://images.transparencycdn.org/images/2019_CPI_methodology.pdf">methodology</a>, the index assesses the perceptions of business leaders and experts on every country’s efforts to prevent and control corruption, and then scores and ranks them. </p>
<p>Ranking 13th out of 180 is pretty good, but we have done better and the public expects better. This was evident in the last federal election, when integrity in government became a focal point. The Coalition had dragged its feet on creating a federal anti-corruption body, a point that was <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/voters-don-t-care-about-integrity-commission-seven-liberal-mps-20220416-p5adw7.html">heavily criticised</a> by Labor, the Greens and teal independents.</p>
<p>The Morrison government eventually proposed legislation for an anti-corruption commission in the lead-up to the election. But to many independent observers, it <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/weakest-watchdog-report-slams-morrison-plan-for-integrity-commission-20211005-p58xgd.html">looked more like a protection racket for politicians</a> than an attempt to deal with scandals involving politicians and public money.</p>
<p>The independent Centre for Public Integrity said the proposed watchdog would have lacked the power to investigate the $100 million “sports rorts” <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sports-rorts-affair-shows-the-need-for-a-proper-federal-icac-with-teeth-122800">affair</a> or the $660 million commuter <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-car-park-rorts-story-is-scandalous-but-it-will-keep-happening-unless-we-close-grant-loopholes-164779">car park scheme</a> – just two high-profile examples of government ministers allegedly using public money for political gain in recent years.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/perceptions-of-corruption-are-growing-in-australia-and-its-costing-the-economy-176562">Perceptions of corruption are growing in Australia, and it's costing the economy</a>
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<h2>How we’re getting back on track</h2>
<p>Although Australia isn’t a high-corruption country, the passage last November of legislation to establish a National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is an important first step. </p>
<p>The legislation sets a high bar by <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-12/detailed-overview-of-NACC-act-19-12-22.PDF">defining corruption</a> as conduct that adversely affects, or could affect, the honest or impartial exercise or performance of any public official’s power, functions or duties. The NACC will also have broad jurisdiction, operate independently from government, hold public hearings, and make public findings. </p>
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<p>However, it would be a mistake to assume the NACC will be a magic bullet.</p>
<p>Politicians are always looking for partisan advantage and government agencies with tens of thousands of employees will always have somebody on the make. This is why, in addition to the establishment of a federal anti-corruption body, it’s important to focus on changing the culture within government agencies too.</p>
<p>Australian government agencies have robust integrity processes, but when there are breaches, the loss is often more likely to be of trust and morale. Services and governance suffer. Eliminating corruption completely is not feasible, but making it even rarer than it is now is something we can achieve.</p>
<h2>A way forward</h2>
<p>Reporting recently on a national integrity research project, a team led by government integrity expert AJ Brown at Griffith University proposes a five-point <a href="https://transparency.org.au/australias-national-integrity-system/">blueprint for action</a>. Two of these steps are already underway: a national integrity plan and a strong federal integrity commission. </p>
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<p>The other themes focus on the need to strengthen open, trustworthy decision-making in government; ensure we have a fair and honest democracy; and enhance protections for public interest whistleblowing. </p>
<p>These involve much more than nailing somebody who looks the other way for a few dollars or manipulates a contract for a bag full of cash.</p>
<p>Open, trustworthy decision-making involves better parliamentary and ministerial standards, and an overhaul of the lobbying system. We need our politicians to observe the highest ethical standards, and if they deal with special interests, as they must, they need to make that more transparent.</p>
<p>A fair and honest democracy, meanwhile, requires desperately needed reform of our campaign financing laws. We need to ensure all campaign donations are reported in real time, and with lowered thresholds. We need to make sure that political donations are just that – donations and not transactions.</p>
<p>And when things don’t look right, public servants, employees and journalists should be able to call them out without fear of persecution or reprisals. The public sector has fallen behind the private sector in whistleblowing protections, though there are hopefully signs <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-and-why-australian-whistleblowing-laws-need-an-overhaul-new-report-195019">the government will move ahead on reforms</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-and-why-australian-whistleblowing-laws-need-an-overhaul-new-report-195019">How and why Australian whistleblowing laws need an overhaul: new report</a>
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<p>This bundle of proposals shows that corruption is more than receiving bribes or favouring family and friends in obtaining benefits or jobs. Australia needs to take a more comprehensive approach to ensuring government integrity, and when it does, we’ll be on our way back into the top ten in the global anti-corruption rankings.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198305/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam Graycar has received funding from the Independent broad based anti-corruption commission (Victoria) and the Australian Research Council.. </span></em></p>Australia slipped from 7th to 18th in the rankings over the past decade. But this year we’ve climbed back to 13th thanks to reforms in key areas including the new National Anti-Corruption Commission.Adam Graycar, Professor of Public Policy, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1113722019-02-08T14:00:22Z2019-02-08T14:00:22ZData shows South Africans will welcome Ramaphosa’s tough talk on graft<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257973/original/file-20190208-174861-1e34npt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa putting final touches to his state of the nation address in which he took a hard stance on corruption.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GCIS</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africans have been shocked by the tidal wave of corruption testimony emerging from the <a href="https://www.sastatecapture.org.za/">commission</a> tasked with probing allegations of state capture by private business interests. </p>
<p>Claims of systematic and widespread corruption involving patronage networks built around former President Jacob Zuma are <a href="https://www.news24.com/Analysis/how-bosasas-bribes-mutilated-south-africas-constitution-20190122">testing the public’s faith</a> in the country’s Constitution, democratic system and public representatives. Government ministers, senior civil servants and politicians from the governing African National Congress’s (ANC) have also <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-01-21-bosasas-agrizzis-testimony-from-tashas-to-fishmonger-bribe-payments-are-as-detailed-as-they-are-devastating/">been implicated</a>.</p>
<p>It is clear from the <a href="https://www.gov.za/speeches/president-cyril-ramaphosa-2019-state-nation-address-7-feb-2019-0000">2019 state of the nation address</a> delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa that the penny has dropped and that the government will finally take a hard stance against corruption. Speaking at length about state capture, Ramaphosa described the commission’s revelations as “deeply disturbing”. </p>
<p>He called for swift action to be taken, saying prosecutions against those accused must proceed and state funds must be recovered. He then announced that an investigating directorate would be established in the office of the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions. The investigator would report directly to the head of prosecutions, taking action without fear, favour or prejudice. </p>
<p>The new directorate resembles the old <a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/batohi-and-npa-to-get-more-teeth-with-scorpions-like-anti-corruption-unit-20190207">Scorpions</a>, which was disbanded under President Zuma. It has the potential to make a real difference in fighting corruption.</p>
<p>Taking into consideration expert and public opinion – and based on our own analysis of 15 years of data about corruption – it’s our view that Ramaphosa’s apparently decisive actions should be welcomed. Corruption has, over the past decade and a half, become one of South Africans’ biggest concerns. </p>
<h2>A growing problem</h2>
<p>Recently, Transparency International ranked South Africa 73 out of the 180 countries surveyed in its <a href="https://www.transparency.org/cpi2018">Corruption Perceptions Index for 2018</a>, based on a score of 43 out of 100 provided by local experts. An index score below 50 reflects a tendency towards the “highly corrupt” end of the scale; it classifies the country as a “flawed democracy”. These critical evaluations are increasingly being mirrored in mass opinion.</p>
<p>Our analysis of trend data from the Human Sciences Research Council’s <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/departments/sasas">South African Social Attitudes Survey</a>, shows that public concern with corruption has grown appreciably over the last 15 years.</p>
<p><em><strong>Table 1: Percentage mentioning corruption as a national priority for the country, by party identification (2003-2017, cell %)</strong></em></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257967/original/file-20190208-174864-18oy89l.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257967/original/file-20190208-174864-18oy89l.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257967/original/file-20190208-174864-18oy89l.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257967/original/file-20190208-174864-18oy89l.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257967/original/file-20190208-174864-18oy89l.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257967/original/file-20190208-174864-18oy89l.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257967/original/file-20190208-174864-18oy89l.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In late 2003, only 9% of the adult population cited corruption as a pressing challenge facing the country. This figure rose to 18% in 2009, 24% in 2014 and 30% by the end of 2017. This means that over the period between 2003 and 2017, corruption moved from being the eighth ranked societal concern among South Africans to the third highest ranked concern (after unemployment, crime and safety). </p>
<p>Concerns with corruption cut across political parties (Fig 1). In late 2017, 27% of those supporting the ANC cited corruption as a national priority. This compared with 38% of supporters of the Democratic Alliance (DA), the main opposition party. The figure among supporters of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the country’s third largest political party, was 35%. Concern with corruption among supporters of other parties was 23%. The share of ANC supporters mentioning corruption as a priority rose from 6% in 2003 to 15% in 2009 and 27% in 2017. </p>
<p>Given this groundswell of concern with corruption, it is unsurprising that only a modest share of citizens are satisfied with the government’s efforts to fight corruption. </p>
<p><em><strong>Percentage satisfied with government efforts to address corruption, by party identification (2017,%)</strong></em></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257971/original/file-20190208-174864-c78f44.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257971/original/file-20190208-174864-c78f44.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257971/original/file-20190208-174864-c78f44.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257971/original/file-20190208-174864-c78f44.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257971/original/file-20190208-174864-c78f44.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257971/original/file-20190208-174864-c78f44.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257971/original/file-20190208-174864-c78f44.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Source: HSRC SASAS 2017.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 2017, only 10% of South Africans were content with measures to curb corruption. There is, again, a broad consensus in this regard across party support lines. Only 9% of ANC supporters, 12% of DA supporters and 13% of EFF supporters believed the government was performing commendably in fighting graft.</p>
<h2>Calling for ethical government</h2>
<p>Alongside their general unhappiness with government efforts to address corruption, South Africans are strongly opposed to corruption. About 90% of adults want politicians found guilty of bribery or other corrupt practices to immediately step down – voluntarily. </p>
<p>This is a resounding message that South Africans want accountability to characterise the country’s politics and governance. ANC supporters were shown to hold some of the strongest anti-corruption opinions. It remains to be seen whether trust in government will improve over the next few years if Ramaphosa’s promises are kept. </p>
<p>It is clear from this data that South Africans across the board strongly favour urgent measures being taken to combat the scourge of corruption. This points to high expectations that the evidence before the state capture commission – and its final recommendations – should result in decisive action being taken against those implicated.</p>
<h2>Action at last?</h2>
<p>Ramaphosa committed in his state of the nation speech to strengthening the capacity of institutions and government to deal with corruption. While not making a direct link, his focus in the speech on investment, coupled with measures against corruption seem to be an long overdue acknowledgement that perceptions of corruption are bad for investment and economic growth. </p>
<p>Finally, the nation has been assured of action. A failure to swiftly and effectively address corruption will not only have far-reaching consequences for the well-being of citizens, especially the poor and vulnerable. It is also likely to strain democratic legitimacy in the country and scare off investors who could make a real difference. </p>
<p><em>Advocate Gary Pienaar, research manager at the HSRC, contributed to this article</em>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111372/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Narnia Bohler-Muller receives governmental and non-governmental funding to lead large research porjects through means of a tender system and in accordance with the PFMA.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Roberts receives governmental and non-governmental funding to lead research various social research projects relating to public attitudes in South Africa. This funding is awarded in accordance with the PFMA.</span></em></p>Corruption has, over the past decade and a half, become one of South Africans’ biggest concerns.Narnia Bohler-Muller, Executive Director of the Democracy, Governance and Service Delivery Programme at the Human Sciences Research Council and Adjunct professor of law, University of Fort HareBenjamin Roberts, Chief Research Specialist and Coordinator of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), Human Sciences Research CouncilLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1004112018-08-06T15:01:53Z2018-08-06T15:01:53ZWhy the global survey on safety is deeply flawed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230208/original/file-20180801-136649-105dad8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A global survey claims South Africans don't trust their police.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Nic Bothma</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There has been a rise in global statistical initiatives that measure and rank countries in terms of various aspects of the human condition. Some of the more prominent examples include the <a href="http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi">Human Development Index</a>, the World Governance <a href="http://info.worldbank.org/governance/WGI/#home">Indicators</a>, the Global Peace <a href="http://visionofhumanity.org/app/uploads/2018/06/Global-Peace-Index-2018-2.pdf">Index</a> and the Corruption Perceptions <a href="https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2017">Index</a>. </p>
<p>Each ranks countries according to a series of indicators, or a composite indicator, and tracks their progress or decline over time. </p>
<p>One of the most recent global indicator projects is the <a href="https://news.gallup.com/reports/235310/gallup-global-law-order-report-2018.aspx">Gallup Law and Order Index</a>. It ranks 142 countries based on a perception survey relating to personal safety and policing, from a representative sample of 1000 people in each country. Knowing how secure, or insecure people feel is important because insecurity affects economic growth and undermines development. </p>
<p>According to the recently released 2018 <a href="https://news.gallup.com/reports/235310/gallup-global-law-order-report-2018.aspx">law and order index</a>, South Africa ranks high in the insecurity index – 137 out 142 countries. This means that South Africans would have expressed high levels of insecurity as well as fear that they were likely to, or had already, fallen victim to crime.</p>
<p>The ranking suggests that South Africans consider themselves to be more insecure, and having lower levels of confidence in the police, compared to people in Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR), Libya and Mali. These are all unstable states affected by violent conflict and high levels of instability.</p>
<p>This is surprising given that South Africa is not in state of armed conflict and is relatively stable. The possible reason for such a questionable ranking is that the survey, like many global perception surveys, doesn’t adequately account for the extent to which people will provide unreliable information about sensitive issues. To improve accuracy, surveys like this should factor in differences in context. </p>
<h2>The rankings</h2>
<p>The rankings are based on an index score derived from responses to the following questions:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>In the city or area where you live, do you have confidence in the local police force?</p></li>
<li><p>Do you feel safe walking alone at night in the city or area where you live?</p></li>
<li><p>Within the last 12 months, have you had money or property stolen from you or another household member?</p></li>
<li><p>Within the past 12 months, have you been assaulted or mugged?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>It’s undeniable that South Africa has high levels of insecurity and interpersonal crime. And, there’s a significant trust deficit between citizens and the police. </p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0341/P03412016.pdf">StatsSA 2016/17 Victims of Crime Survey</a> showed that only 30% of South African’s reported feeling safe walking at night in their neighbourhoods. Only 57% of households reported that they were “satisfied” with the police in their communities. And the country has very high <a href="https://www.saps.gov.za/services/c_thumbnail.php?id=322">levels of crime</a>.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, it seems odd that South Africa is ranked below countries like <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/yemen">Yemen</a>, which has been in the throes of an intense civil war for several years, the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/central-african-republic">Central African Republic</a> and <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/libya">Libya</a>, which have been acutely affected by insurgency, criminality and weak law and order institutions. </p>
<p>Ranking South Africa below the DRC, Mali and Libya is also questionable given that the security forces and militias in those countries have been widely regarded as predatory and highly abusive.</p>
<p>So what’s missing?</p>
<h2>Context</h2>
<p>Firstly, context is key. </p>
<p>A key shortcoming of using survey data about crime and insecurity to construct indices and rankings is that people won’t always reply to questions honestly and accurately.</p>
<p>In stable democracies respondents will often give precise and truthful responses as there is little or no fear of reprisals from the state. Conversely, in unstable countries that have repressive governments, <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022343311405698">research</a> shows that citizens are less willing to provide accurate information about personal experiences of crime and policing. This is because they fear there may be negative repercussions for them and their families.</p>
<p>Secondly, as research method experts have argued, survey responses can also be influenced by a variety of societal norms, particularly those related to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01621459.1986.10478282">privacy and dignity</a>, in which sensitive matters aren’t easily discussed with strangers. </p>
<p>In South Africa, citizens are generally willing to talk openly about crime and to criticise the police. But, this isn’t the case in many other African and Latin American countries that were rated as being safer. These include DRC, Libya, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/honduras">Honduras</a> and <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/mexico">Mexico</a>.</p>
<p>This is not to say that constructing indices about crime victimisation and policing on a country basis is irrelevant. But the danger of indicators like this, and adopting a ranking approach without careful consideration of the context in which the data is gathered, is that it could lead to wrong perceptions about crime and policing. That may even reinforce the use of militarised policing strategies, which will further undermine <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Political-Policing-United-States-America/dp/0822321599">human security</a> over less aggressive and more integrated approaches to crime prevention. Examples of where this has happened include <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/27/brazil-military-police-crime-rio-de-janeiro-favelas">Brazil</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/29/world/americas/mexico-military-drug-war.html">Mexico</a> and <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0021909614541086">South Africa</a>. </p>
<p>To improve the accuracy of indices like this, it would be advisable to develop a quantifiable weighting for the reliability of crime and insecurity survey data for each country, and then apply the weighting to the overall index score. For example, in countries with more authoritarian governments, respondents are likely to under report their levels of trust in the police and sense of personal insecurity.</p>
<p>Applying a reliability weighting would adjust the overall insecurity index score to better reflect people’s lived reality. Such a weighting can be developed by including additional questions in the survey, for example about how willing respondents are to talk to strangers about sensitive information, including views about their governments.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100411/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Guy Lamb does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Law and Order Index says South Africans feel less secure than people in Yemen, the DRC and Libya, countries all affected by violent conflict.Guy Lamb, Director, Safety and Violence Initiaitive, University of Cape Town, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/719682017-02-03T02:10:39Z2017-02-03T02:10:39ZWhy Brazil is winning its fight against corruption<p>Last month, the respected Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Teori Zavascki died in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/world/americas/brazil-judge-zavascki-petrobras-investigation-killed-plane-crash.html?_r=0">plane crash</a>. He was overseeing the largest corruption investigation in the country’s history.</p>
<p>Even if his recently selected successor, <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38839301">Edson Fachin</a>, rises to the occasion, Zavascki’s death remains a tragic loss and a blow to Brazil’s fight against corruption. Especially since it comes on the heels of lawmakers <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/04/world/americas/thousands-in-brazil-protest-gutting-of-anticorruption-measures.html">torpedoing</a> in late 2016 a widely popular effort to make it easier for prosecutors and judges to clean up government.</p>
<p>While these events make it easy to despair, the reality reveals much more reason for hope. In our 2015 book “<a href="http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/greed-corruption-and-the-modern-state">Greed, Corruption and the Modern State</a>,” we argue that societies must push back against the influence of powerful economic actors in order to safeguard the public interest. The network of Brazilians exposing, prosecuting and sentencing the corrupt politicians swimming in this mar de lama, or sea of mud, embodies that ideal. However, their effort would benefit from legal reforms that make it easier to fight corruption. </p>
<h2>From scandal to scandal</h2>
<p>Brazilians have long had to accept corruption scandals as a chronic part of their government. Graft was present under <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01436599208420302">military rule</a>, despite what those hoping for the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38010060">return of authoritarianism</a> seem to believe. But corruption scandals have also plagued every <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4490507?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">presidential administration</a> since civil order was reestablished in 1985.</p>
<p>Even the administration of the popular Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, who governed Brazil during a period of rising prosperity from 2003 to 2010, coincided with several corruption scandals. They include <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/29/AR2006092900891.html">Caixa Dois</a>, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3532239.stm">Bingos</a> and, most memorably, <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/11/economist-explains-14">Mensalão</a>, a scheme in which coalition parties <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/andersonantunes/2013/11/28/the-cost-of-corruption-in-brazil-could-be-up-to-53-billion-just-this-year-alone/#622c59d7610b">accepted more than US$40 million</a> in clandestine payments to support Lula’s Workers Party (also known as the PT). </p>
<p>Yet even as the Supreme Court investigated the Mensalão case, the PT still won two presidential elections – one that reelected Lula and another won by Dilma Rousseff in 2010.</p>
<p>Rousseff’s administration began on a hopeful note for those battling corruption. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/americas/in-her-first-year-brazil-president-dilma-rousseff-cleans-house/2011/12/12/gIQAOMnStO_story.html?utm_term=.1d29e4f5b2dc">She fired</a> five ministers linked to bribery, kickbacks and influence peddling and helped enact a major government <a href="http://www.freedominfo.org/regions/latin-america/brazil/">transparency law</a>. </p>
<p>But within a few years, the tide – and public support – turned against her as Brazil’s <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2016/04/economic-backgrounder">economic outlook</a> worsened and crowds protested continuing corruption and the billions that were spent on new <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/21/brazil-police-crowds-rio-protest">stadiums</a> for the 2014 World Cup.</p>
<p>As a result, the country soured on her at the same time that Brazil’s largest corruption scandal, known as Lava Jato, began to unfold. That scheme involved construction companies colluding with employees of the state-owned oil company <a href="http://www.coha.org/understanding-the-petrobras-scandal/">Petrobras</a> to win inflated contracts. Petrobras employees <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-05-08/brazil-s-massive-corruption-scandal-has-bitterness-replacing-hope">took bribes</a>, while politicians got <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/business/international/effects-of-petrobras-scandal-leave-brazilians-lamenting-a-lost-dream.html">kickbacks</a> as personal gifts or campaign donations. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, Rousseff was accused of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36028247">spending public funds without congressional authorization</a> and was impeached in August, shortly after the 2016 Olympics. <a href="http://www.semana.com/mundo/articulo/destitucion-de-dilma-roussef-en-medio-de-corrupcion-y-clientelismo/492256">Although Rousseff herself was not accused of corruption, some argue that</a> she was essentially used as a scapegoat.</p>
<h2>Who’s changing Brazil</h2>
<p>But none of the bribes and kickbacks would be known today if the federal prosecutors had not doggedly investigated the Petrobras scheme allowing the judicial branch to take on the elite. </p>
<p>Brazilians themselves and an emboldened media also deserve credit for the gradual end of impunity. In the past three years, the public took to the streets on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/21/brazil-police-crowds-rio-protest">multiple</a> <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-protests-idUSKBN13T0O1">occasions</a> to protest waste and corruption. Local media coverage of the scandals was “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/05/05/corruption-is-not-new-to-brazil-so-why-is-it-threatening-the-presidency-now/?utm_term=.890a719ed8f3">scathing and unrelenting</a>.”</p>
<p>Authorities have made nearly <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/2ed33462-2d6b-11e6-bf8d-26294ad519fc#axzz4CERGbCFo">200 arrests</a>, and the lower courts have convicted over 80 people, including the ex-CEO of Odebrecht, Latin America’s largest construction group, which is also <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/odebrecht-and-braskem-plead-guilty-and-agree-pay-least-35-billion-global-penalties-resolve">on the hook</a> for at least $3.5 billion in fines for bribing government officials. The Supreme Court, which is responsible for trying politicians, is processing over 100 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/19/brazil-supreme-court-corruption-case-teori-zavascki-dies-plane-crash?CMP=share_btn_link.">additional cases</a>. </p>
<h2>10 measures</h2>
<p>Despite their successes, Brazil’s prosecutors and judges operate in a challenging legal and institutional environment that makes it difficult to achieve decisive results.</p>
<p>To remedy these problems, prosecutors have crafted the reform statute known as <a href="http://www.dezmedidas.mpf.mp.br/">10 Measures against Corruption</a>, presented to Congress last year as a public initiative endorsed by over <a href="http://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/en/politica/noticia/2016-12/rodrigo-janot-defends-10-anti-corruption-ballot-measures">two million</a> Brazilians.</p>
<p>The bill’s threat to vested interests provoked powerful opposition in the legislature, and lawmakers quietly weakened it by adding an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/30/world/americas/brazil-corruption.html">amendment</a> to undermine the effectiveness of prosecutors and judges. An effort by the president of the Senate, Renan Calheiros, to <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-politics-corruption-idUSKBN13Q59F">rush</a> the weakened bill through failed. And the Supreme Court seemingly fired back by forcing Calheiros to <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/renan-calheiros-ordered-removed-from-senate-presidency-by-brazil-supreme-court-judge-1480978526">relinquish</a> the presidency while he faces corruption charges of his own.</p>
<p>The failure to pass a strong reform bill, coming on top of the massive bribery and bid-rigging revealed by the Petrobras scandal, has shaken the country’s political system. The dramatic cases against officials and private parties have also meant the public believes that corruption is getting worse.</p>
<p>Paradoxically, however, the flood of recent cases indicate to us that conditions are improving. They show that elements of the country’s system of accountability are working.</p>
<h2>Reforming the system</h2>
<p>But to consolidate these past gains, important reforms are necessary. </p>
<p>The 10 Measures against Corruption ought to be a starting point for more fundamental reforms. <a href="http://combateacorrupcao.mpf.mp.br/10-medidas/docs/executive_summary_english_version.pdf">This bill</a> aims to eliminate some of the practices at the heart of the Petrobras scandal, such as illegal campaign contributions to politicians who, if elected, are expected to reciprocate by awarding government contracts. The bill <a href="http://fcpamericas.com/english/brazil/ten-measures-proposed-brazilian-federal-prosecution-service-fight-corruption-part-i/">also</a> <a href="http://fcpamericas.com/english/brazil/ten-measures-proposed-brazilian-federal-prosecution-service-fight-corruption-part-ii/">seeks</a> to speed up criminal proceedings, ensure the confidentiality of whistleblowers, extend the statute of limitations and enhance asset confiscation capabilities. </p>
<p>However, prosecutorial zeal has also led to controversial tactics that have raised <a href="https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2016/03/10/guest-post-brazil-must-fight-corruption-but-preserve-the-rule-of-law/">concerns</a> about due process. We, for example, question the use of pretrial detention absent clear evidence of flight risk. Others <a href="http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/opiniao/2016/10/1821713-desvendando-moro.shtml">question</a> the high proportion of cases targeting the PT and other left-leaning political parties. While these concerns need to be addressed, we believe prosecutors and judges are proceeding as best as they can under challenging conditions.</p>
<p>The next, more difficult step should be structural reform of the political system. Brazil has over two dozen parties that produce a chaotic legislature in which lawmakers compete for payoffs in return for votes. As evidenced by Mensalão, presidents have used questionable tactics in order to <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/614517/summary">sustain</a> governing coalitions. Political corruption might seem the inevitable result of Brazil’s constitutional structure. </p>
<p>Shifting to a parliamentary system, with a prime minister from the winning coalition, would solve some problems, but seems presently unrealistic. Alternately, requiring a higher proportion of the popular vote before a party can participate in the legislature would be a less draconian reform.</p>
<h2>Looking ahead</h2>
<p>Controlling corruption in Brazil is possible, but the system requires new rules to make politicians more accountable in the country and to reduce the incentives for corrupt payoffs. Reformers can help by leveraging the political crisis generated by the Petrobras scandal. </p>
<p>For the sake of their country, and to honor Zavascki’s memory, the Congress should embrace this critical moment in history and enact legislation that may finally break with the cycle of corruption for the good of Brazilian democracy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71968/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul F. Lagunes receives funding from the International Growth Center. He is a Visiting Scholar at the Inter-American Development Bank.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Rose-Ackerman is affiliated with Transparency International-USA.</span></em></p>By exposing, prosecuting and sentencing Brazil’s corrupt politicians, prosecutors, judges and citizens are draining the swamp that has overwhelmed the country for so long.Paul F. Lagunes, Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia UniversitySusan Rose-Ackerman, Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence (Law and Political Science), Yale UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/611202016-06-19T14:54:27Z2016-06-19T14:54:27ZNigeria: a corrupt culture or the result of a particular history?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/126936/original/image-20160616-15113-qvxt5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A boy holds a placard during a rally in support of President Muhammadu Buhari's anti-corruption campaign.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Just before the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/anti-corruption-summit-london-2016/about">anti-corruption summit in London</a>, British Prime Minister David Cameron made his now infamous public gaffe in a rather a silly, schoolboyish way. He boasted to the Queen:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’ve got some leaders of some fantastically corrupt countries coming to Britain. Nigeria and Afghanistan, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/10/david-cameron-caught-on-camera-boasting-to-queen-about-fantastic/">possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world</a>. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The rudeness and stupidity of the remark apart, it was also inaccurate. Nigeria justifiably has a reputation for corruption and criminal networks. But it is by no means one of the two most corrupt countries in the world. Somalia and North Korea hold that distinction,<a href="https://www.transparency.org/cpi2015/#results-table">according to Transparency International</a>. Nigeria also ranks as less corrupt than Kenya which is ranked 139 out of 167 countries. Nigeria is ranked 136.</p>
<p>Nigeria has long had a reputation for corruption in politics, business and its military establishment. It also has reputation for being heavily involved in the infamous international 419 financial scams, in drug and sex worker trafficking. </p>
<h2>Return assets stolen from Nigeria</h2>
<p>The reaction of President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria was one of <a href="http://www.africanews.com/2016/05/10/buhari-shocked-by-cameron-s-fantastically-corrupt-remark-about-nigeria/">shock</a> – rather a faux shock for the media. After all, Buhari is involved in cranking up an anti-corruption drive that has seen the arrest of major politicians and army officers. An investigation is ongoing into the <a href="http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/12/alleged-2bn-arms-deal-fraud-efcc-uncovers-another-n600m-scam/">corrupt diversion of funds</a> that were to have purchased weapons to fight Boko Haram but ended up in the pockets of political, military and business insiders connected with the previous administration of Goodluck Jonathan. </p>
<p>Buhari said he didn’t want an apology from Cameron over the remarks but instead the return of assets stolen from Nigeria and banked in or via Britain. The latter is in reference to off-shore banks in British territories like Guernsey, Jersey and the Cayman Islands. These are the very offshore banking network revealed, to Cameron’s embarrassment, in the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/03/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-panama-papers">Panama Papers</a>. The leaked papers detailed the vast international network of tax avoidance, money laundering and investment of stolen or criminally-obtained assets. </p>
<h2>London as a corrupt financial capital</h2>
<p>And Buhari has a point. The British are in no position to preach, according to the world famous expert on the mafia and other forms of organised crime, Roberto Saviano. The journalist and author told his audience at the Hay-on-Wye <a href="https://www.hayfestival.com/wales/index.aspx?skinid=2&currencysetting=GBP&localesetting=en-GB&resetfilters=true">literary festival</a> that British financial institutions enabled what he called “criminal capitalism” to operate through the network of offshore banks, investment funds and other holdings in British territories. </p>
<p>Saviano said his research showed that the City of London operated in a way that made possible the working of financial systems that eluded investigation, let alone taxation, and effectively made <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/05/29/britain-is-most-corrupt-country-on-earth-says-mafia-expert-rober/">Britain the most corrupt country</a>. He was quoted by the Guardian and Telegraph as saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If I asked what the most corrupt place on Earth is, you might say it’s Afghanistan, maybe Greece, Nigeria, the south of Italy. I would say it is the UK. It’s not UK bureaucracy, police, or politics, but what is corrupt is the financial capital. Ninety per cent of the owners of capital in London have their headquarters offshore.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>The gap between law and reality</h2>
<p>It is no coincidence that the late journalist, academic and expert on crime and corruption in West Africa, Professor Stephen Ellis, devoted an important part of his posthumously published book, <a href="http://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/this-present-darkness/">This Present Darkness</a>, to the role of British, American and Swedish companies among others in bribery, avoidance of the payment of royalties, false accounting and illegal capital flight in Nigeria and in aiding and abetting domestic corruption. </p>
<p>His superbly researched and incisive study details how British bankers saw the end of empire as both a threat and an opportunity and developed existing offshore banking networks. They used the “archaic jurisdictions” of British dependencies in the Channel Islands and the Caribbean to exploit “the disconnection between the physical location of a transaction and the legal space where it is recorded”. This enabled the cunning or corrupt to “exploit the gap between law and reality”. </p>
<p>British and other foreign companies took advantage of this in their looting of resources. They also used this in trading relationships with countries like Nigeria by concealing the real earnings from exports or inflating the costs of imports. So too did wealthy Nigerians, often through deals with foreign companies, who got their corruptly obtained riches out to offshore banks.</p>
<h2>A tradition of gift-giving</h2>
<p>But corruption in Nigeria is not something that can be blamed solely on multinationals. As Ellis painstakingly explains, it is much, much more complex. One major factor is the tradition of gift-giving to holders of public office. And then also the expectation that holders of office would use their position to distribute largesse to their followers. </p>
<p>These traditional systems of mutual benefit and patronage were not swept away by colonial rule but often distorted and developed by it. New classes of politicians, public servants and businessmen retained the exchange of gifts or distribution of wealth through social and political networks. These include the ubiquitous secret societies in some parts of Nigeria. </p>
<p>Old networks persisted in new contexts, creating informal or hidden patronage-client systems that were still important to the exercise of political power and formal state institutions. The weakness of Nigerian legal and formal political institutions – as evidenced by the repeated coups – meant that these informal networks became more rather than less powerful. This situation was reinforced by the very diverse and fragmented nature of Nigeria and the importance of local power bases for politicians.</p>
<p>The oil industry and sudden influx of substantial royalties also created opportunities for corruption, the expansion of networks of corruption and misuse of state funds or natural resources. Oil fuelled the rise of a new class of local middlemen, who acted as agents for the oil companies. Contracts for state-funded projects connected with the oil industry became a new form of patronage. At first this was through the military – whose officers benefited hugely from the political power that flowed from the barrel of a gun as well as from barrels of oil.</p>
<h2>Is Nigeria innately corrupt?</h2>
<p>What Ellis’s book amply demonstrates is the extent of corruption in Nigeria. It uncovers the networks of wealth accumulation and patronage that dominate politics, business and the oil industry. It traces the inextricable link with international financial networks used to launder or invest corrupt money. Finally, it exposes the plundering activities of multinational companies that avoid tax, under-report export volumes and inflate contracts. </p>
<p>Nigeria is part of a fantastically corrupt international network. But is Nigeria innately corrupt or has corruption developed and burgeoned there for specific reasons related to its complex past? I concur with Ellis when he concludes: “Nigerian organised crime is not created by culture, but it does arise from a particular history.”</p>
<p><em>* A longer version of this <a href="http://commonwealth-opinion.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2016/nigerian-corruption-and-crime-a-fantastically-corrupt-culture-or-the-result-of-a-particular-history/">article</a> was first published on the Commonwealth Opinion blog of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61120/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keith Somerville does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Corruption in Nigeria is not something that can be blamed solely on multinationals. It is much, much more complex.Keith Somerville, Visiting professor, University of KentLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/517772016-01-12T11:18:09Z2016-01-12T11:18:09ZCan businesses succeed in a world of corruption (without paying bribes)?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107846/original/image-20160111-6986-l5h4vq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bribe or tip?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cash exchange via www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every global business has to be careful about running afoul of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the federal law that <a href="http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/fcpa/fcpa-anti-bribery.pdf">prohibits</a> paying bribes to foreign officials to “obtain or retain” business. </p>
<p>The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are currently investigating 84 companies, according to the <a href="http://www.fcpablog.com/blog/2016/1/5/the-corporate-investigations-list-january-2016.html">FCPA Blog</a>, including <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/wal-mart-bribery-probe-finds-little-misconduct-in-mexico-1445215737">Walmart</a>, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-jpmorgan-jeffersoncounty-settlement-idUSKBN0TL1OX20151202">JPMorgan Chase</a> and Brazilian oil giant <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-petrobras-ensco-idUSKBN0UK1DV20160106">Petrobras</a>, to determine whether they used corrupt measures to win business.</p>
<p>The cost of such violations can range from a few million dollars, like Mead Johnson’s <a href="http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2015/34-75532.pdf">US$12 million payment</a> to the SEC for dispensing $2 million in bribes through its China unit to health care professionals at government-owned hospitals, to the $772 million assessed against Alstom SA for bribing officials in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Bahamas. </p>
<p>Alstom and other companies are sometimes <a href="http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/alstom-pleads-guilty-and-agrees-pay-772-million-criminal-penalty-resolve-foreign-bribery">even forced</a> formally to plead guilty. They’re required, in other words, to admit wrongdoing rather than just agreeing to a quiet settlement and putting the whole affair in the past. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2218774">core question</a> facing any company with global operations is whether to go along with a demand for questionable – and sometimes blatantly illegal – payments if it wants to win new business or at least maintain its position. </p>
<p>Some of the most enticing developing markets are ones in which corruption flourishes, from the lowest bureaucrat to the presidential palace. The <a href="https://www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results">annual survey</a> published by Transparency International shows that countries like China, Russia, India and even Mexico continue to struggle with widespread bribery in the public sector. </p>
<p>Paying bribes is sometimes viewed as an (almost) unavoidable cost of doing business. Companies caught making illicit payments have sometimes pleaded that they cannot operate without running the risk of violating the law and argue that the costs to comply with the FCPA are onerous. This complaint goes back to the time shortly after Congress adopted the law in 1977, with a <a href="http://www.gao.gov/assets/140/132199.pdf">1981 Government Accountability Office report</a> noting that “many companies believe the cost of complying with the act exceeds the benefits derived.”</p>
<p>Given this, does <a href="http://store.westacademic.com/White-Collar-Crime.html">adhering to the requirements</a> of the FCPA really make it too difficult to succeed abroad?</p>
<p>This question is becoming more pressing as the Justice Department <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2016/01/04/new-look-u-s-foreign-corruption-enforcement-to-take-shape-in-2016/">beefs up</a> its FCPA unit after a decline in the number of cases filed in 2015 and must resolve long-running investigations of companies like Wal-Mart and JPMorgan that have dragged on for years.</p>
<h2>A hard-knock life?</h2>
<p>The FCPA <a href="http://www.illinoislawreview.org/article/minimizing-the-menace-of-the-foreign-corrupt-practices-act/">has long been criticized</a> as creating the proverbial “uneven playing field” because foreign competitors are portrayed as happily paying bribes and stealing business from American companies with impunity. </p>
<p>But it is questionable whether life is really so difficult when operating in countries that are perceived as corrupt while adhering to the FCPA. The airport customs officers demanding a “special fee” to process a passport or the technician from the government-controlled telephone monopoly asking for more cash to complete an installation is a nuisance but hardly the type of conduct that has a major impact on companies.</p>
<p>The grease payment that is little more than a tip falls well outside the purview of prosecutors and regulators. </p>
<p>The Justice Department and SEC use the FCPA to police bribes and gifts provided to obtain larger procurement contracts and to maintain significant business relationships. Their focus is on the larger cases in which more than a single rogue employee engages in isolated misconduct. </p>
<h2>Everyone else is doing it…</h2>
<p>The complaint that it is difficult to do business due to widespread local corruption is more a smokescreen, I would argue, to justify questionable business practices, such as extravagant gifts and hiring relatives of senior government officials, than a reasonable criticism of the FCPA. </p>
<p>If you claim everyone else is doing it, and therefore you had to go along, that makes it easier to justify engaging in conduct that has crossed the line into the unethical, and perhaps even illegal.</p>
<p>Business people generally don’t wake up in the morning with the intention of violating the law, even ones they disagree with. So there is a measure of self-delusion needed to violate the FCPA. In other words, complaints that the law is somehow “unfair” serve as justification for violating the act as if doing so isn’t really all that bad and perhaps even necessary to compete against less ethical competitors. </p>
<p>Paying bribes, and the attendant cover-up needed to keep the payments from discovery, is not only wrong, but the artifice needed to pay them takes on a life of its own. Like any good protection racket, paying government officials for favorable treatment is unlikely to be a one-time event. </p>
<p>Once begun, companies have to continue to pay, often more and more just to stay in place. Corruption is like quicksand – once trapped, the harder you fight, the deeper you sink.</p>
<h2>Cost of corruption</h2>
<p>Of course, the cost of engaging in corruption in the name of doing business means that the company will make even less on any contract it wins. </p>
<p>At least a portion of the profit will be diverted to a government official and, most likely, a middleman who takes a cut of the action. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the <a href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/2814011e.pdf?expires=1452522295&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=22E3661ADCB20CD758EC32551861E2B8">cost of this corruption</a> is typically over 10 percent of the value of the contract or transaction, which means a company will have to work that much harder to make a profit.</p>
<p>Refusing to pay bribes can cost companies revenue and profits in the short term. Yet, giving in to demands for corrupt payments is hardly a guarantee of success. Indeed, a company may well end up shelling out far more once it is caught than it ever gained from making the illicit payments. German conglomerate Siemens A.G. paid out US$1.6 billion in <a href="http://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2008/December/08-crm-1105.html">fines and other penalties</a>, including disgorgement of its profits, from a long-running bribery scheme that required the company to pay for an outside monitor for four years to ensure its compliance with the law.</p>
<p>An area that presents a particular challenge is the practice of giving gifts, something ingrained in many cultures.</p>
<p>Giving gifts is not necessarily wrong but can certainly rise to the level of illegal conduct even among those with the best intentions. If only life were so simple that easy lines could be drawn between the ethically correct and morally problematic. </p>
<p>The issue is not just the value of the benefit, although that is one aspect when the gift is worth thousands of dollars and would strike the ordinary person as far more than just a display of appreciation. Instead, it is the expectation underlying the gift that can explain whether it is illegal.</p>
<p>Some favors cost a company very little but raise significant questions about the motives behind them. For example, BNY Mellon <a href="http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2015/34-75720.pdf">paid out</a> nearly $15 million to settle with the SEC for violating the FCPA by awarding internships to three family members of officials affiliated with a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund to keep managing its assets. </p>
<p>Anyone who has ever worked with interns knows they often cost far more than the value of the work they might perform. But for companies, it can be a nice way to cement a relationship and keep business flowing. </p>
<h2>Policing the supply side of corruption</h2>
<p><a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=298089">Every nation</a> has laws prohibiting bribery, but whether they are enforced is another issue. </p>
<p>When a country’s legal system does nothing to police official corruption, then there is an understandable sense of frustration on the part of businesses that must deal with it on a daily basis.</p>
<p>The FCPA polices the supply side of the bribery equation by making it a crime to pay out the money, even when it is perceived as the only way to stay in business. A quirk of the statute precludes pursuing cases against the recipient, leaving it to the official’s own government to deal with it – or look the other way, as happens too often.</p>
<p>Foreign bribery is not something that falls outside the purview of corporate management. The OECD <a href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/2814011e.pdf?expires=1452522295&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=22E3661ADCB20CD758EC32551861E2B8">report on foreign bribery</a> pointed out that “corporate leadership is involved, or at least aware, of the practice of foreign bribery in most cases, rebutting perceptions of bribery as the act of rogue employees.”</p>
<p>Is it fair that global companies have to pay the price for overseas corruption? Perhaps not, but that does not mean the FCPA is flawed. As every parent tells a child at some point, “life isn’t always fair.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51777/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter J. Henning does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Companies complain that the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act creates an uneven playing field when doing business abroad in places corruption flourishes. Are they right?Peter J. Henning, Professor of Law, Wayne State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/312652014-09-04T13:37:00Z2014-09-04T13:37:00ZWe still don’t have a good way to measure global corruption<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58178/original/grvtmsfy-1409762223.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'Won't this show up in the crime stats?'</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-213959887/stock-photo-human-is-washing-dollars-banknotes-in-foam.html?src=Cc4BbQBJxzN3PlWzsAMI7g-1-55">Nomad_Soul</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Corruption is an urgent global problem, one that costs the developing world dearly and badly slows its development down. But until recently, figuring out just how big the problem is, and what to do about it, has been fiendishly difficult.</p>
<p>Now, the <a href="http://www.one.org/international/">ONE Campaign</a> has launched an important <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/one.org/pdfs/Trillion_Dollar_Scandal_report_EN.pdf">report</a> calling on the G20 nations to address the “trillion dollar scandal” of global corruption. In it, the campaign estimates that a web of corrupt activity robs developing nations of <a href="http://businessdayonline.com/2014/09/corrupt-activities-cost-poor-nations-1-trillion-annually-says-one-campaign/#.VAgtVWSzBT4">at least US $1 trillion every year</a>. </p>
<p>Similar figures have appeared in other estimates: the World Economic Forum, for instance, has <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ICC_B20_G20MessageAntiCorruption_2012.pdf">estimated</a> the cost of corruption to be more than 5% of global GDP (US $2.6 trillion), while the World Bank believes <a href="http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20190295%7EmenuPK:34457%7EpagePK:34370%7EpiPK:34424%7EtheSitePK:4607,00.html">more than $1 trillion globally is paid in bribes</a> each year.</p>
<p>Of course, while there can be little doubt that corruption costs the global economy dearly, the secretive nature of corrupt exchanges makes uncovering their true extent a tricky task indeed. </p>
<p>Given the staggering corruption figures that are being floated, it’s hardly surprising there is a serious impetus to develop accurate ways to measure corruption – to show not only how much corruption exists in the world, but also where it occurs and with what frequency, and ultimately to provide guidance on how to stop it.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, because currently available corruption measures are so beset by conceptual, methodological and political problems (sometimes all at once), they are just not very good tools for effective anti-corruption policy.</p>
<h2>Same old story</h2>
<p>This is especially true of the most widely used measure, Transparency International’s <a href="http://www.transparency.org/research/cpi/overview">Corruption Perceptions Index</a> (CPI). Published yearly, usually to extensive media coverage, the CPI tries to quantify national corruption by measuring how experts, business leaders, and the public perceive it in their countries. </p>
<p>The CPI has been politically extremely influential; it has done a lot to raise awareness about the extent of corruption in different countries, and on its face, it provides a reasonably useful broad-brush picture of the overall extent of national corruption. But despite the way CPI is almost cherished as a data source, it’s still seriously flawed.</p>
<p>There are fundamental problems with the core assumption on which the CPI rests. In practice, the relationship between perceptions and experiences of corruption is both inconsistent across countries (there’s no reason why corruption should be perceived just as accurately in Bangladesh as in Burundi) and non-linear (there’s no reason why perceptions of corruption should ebb and flow with levels of corruption themselves).</p>
<p>But the CPI also presents an implausible consistency in individual countries’ scores. In a recent <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9230799&fileId=S0143814X14000099">article</a>, we analysed this consistency over an 11-year period in CPI scores. The results are shown in the chart below. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58167/original/233m9cth-1409757999.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58167/original/233m9cth-1409757999.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58167/original/233m9cth-1409757999.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58167/original/233m9cth-1409757999.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58167/original/233m9cth-1409757999.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58167/original/233m9cth-1409757999.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=716&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58167/original/233m9cth-1409757999.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=716&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58167/original/233m9cth-1409757999.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=716&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>This level of consistency across years we found is so strong that it clearly makes no sense to treat each annual score as separate. Given its lack of variation, the CPI might as well be published every five or ten years, since there would be very little loss in precision – hardly a resounding recommendation for such a widely used metric.</p>
<p>We repeated this analysis for another widely-cited perceptual measure of corruption, the World Bank’s <a href="http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/index.aspx#home">Control of Corruption Index</a>, and found essentially identical results: extreme consistency even across an 11-year time period.</p>
<p>These findings show that as a way to measure corruption, perceptual measures have serious – and still underappreciated – limitations. </p>
<h2>Cooking the books</h2>
<p>In response to concerns like these, there have been many attempts to create new corruption measures that rely on (seemingly) more objective sources – crime statistics or accountancy data, for example – in hopes that these data provide information about the objective rate of corruption. </p>
<p>That’s a plausible enough assumption; accounts might highlight where money is being spent with no return, and crime data might record the number of people actually convicted of a corruption-related crime. </p>
<p>But even these promising efforts still face big problems. Crime statistics, for instance, are particularly susceptible to subjective judgements about what corruption actually is: whether and when bribery, fraud or theft count, for example.</p>
<p>Using accountancy data, meanwhile, demands similar judgements about how to classify “missing” resources. Is all money that has disappeared indicative of corruption? Could it be a result of theft – and could that theft still count as corruption if so? Is chronic inefficiency in some areas necessarily a result of corruption?</p>
<h2>A different tack</h2>
<p>And most of all, many attempts to measure corruption are undercut by a core assumption: the idea of corruption as “one thing”, an indivisible property that can be captured by a single number or score – which in turn is applicable to the whole of an arbitrarily selected territory. As a result, many measurements of corruption are presented in league table format, purporting to show which countries are most or least corrupt. </p>
<p>In practice, of course, corruption actually takes place in concrete settings and specific places, in ways that do not easily map onto the nation-state. There may be significant variance at local level when dealing with corruption in particular sectors of an economy, corruption involving trans-national or cross-border networks. </p>
<p>Every country, meanwhile, has regions with conspicuously worse reputations for corruption than the national average would imply – think of Illinois in the US, nearly 90% of whose voters apparently believe corruption is “<a href="http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/03/31/nearly-90-percent-say-illinois-government-is-corrupt/">typical in state government</a>.”</p>
<h2>Stopping the flow</h2>
<p>A major virtue of the approach the ONE Campaign has taken is that instead of constructing an international ranking of some kind, it highlights the scale of the problem across the developing world as a whole – and shows how the G20 nations can make a concrete difference. This is a big advance on the CPI-centric idea that simply comparing countries’ individual corruption records is a serious way of addressing the problem.</p>
<p>As the report points out, the fact remains that many of the proceeds of corruption in the developing world are still allowed to flow through established financial centres in the developed world – London, New York, Hong Kong – via anonymous shell companies, who in turn funnel them to offshore tax havens. </p>
<p>These corrupt flows, still insufficiently understood (never mind policed), are the real corruption scandal – and cracking down on them is beyond the capacity of the developing nations they exploit.</p>
<p>The report’s research estimates that US$20 trillion of money illegitimately removed from developing countries is now held in offshore tax havens around the world. As the way global corruption is actually practised starts to be exposed, moving on from superficial and compromised ways of measuring the problem is the first step to ending it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31265/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Heywood receives funding from the European Union through the ANTICORRP project which is funded via the Framework Programme 7, and through the TACOD project which is funded by EU DG Home Affairs. He is also funded by EU DG Home Affairs as the UK Expert for the network of Local Research Correspondents on Corruption.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Rose has previously received funding from the UK's Economic and Social Research Council, and the Hong Kong Research Grants Council.</span></em></p>Corruption is an urgent global problem, one that costs the developing world dearly and badly slows its development down. But until recently, figuring out just how big the problem is, and what to do about…Paul Heywood, Sir Francis Hill Professor of European Politics, University of NottinghamJonathan Rose, Research Fellow, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/210942013-12-05T14:43:28Z2013-12-05T14:43:28ZCorruption is in the eye of the beholder<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37033/original/brn42tc9-1386246991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Don't believe the hype.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Liquidnight</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Corruption, so it would seem, is the talk of the town. In the past week alone we’ve seen stories emerge of a high-ranking official at a respected Chinese university trying to emigrate to avoid prosecution on <a href="http://tinyurl.com/nkhxwuq">corruption grounds</a>, while closer to home, the attorney-general, Dominic Grieve, has got into decidedly hot water by suggesting that particular communities within Britain are more prone to <a href="http://tinyurl.com/o4m6zag">indulge in corruption</a> than others. </p>
<p>Talk about corruption continued apace when Berlin-based Transparency International, published its annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). The CPI measures perceived levels of corruption around the world, and in 2013 it included data on no less than <a href="http://tinyurl.com/l8qhoxk">177 countries</a>.</p>
<p>As usual, it doesn’t take a great deal of imagination to work out which countries received both the best and the worst scores. The Nordic states performed admirably, with Denmark scoring 91 out of a maximum of 100 indicating that it is – according to this measure at least – “the least corrupt country” in the world (along with another country that perennially impresses, New Zealand). Sweden and Finland were not far behind, registering a respectable 89 in joint third place. At the bottom, it was a familiar tale of woe for Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia which all ended up 175th (and last) with a meagre 8 out of 100.</p>
<p>The index is not without its critics. <a href="http://tinyurl.com/py7t4rn">Scholars</a> write off what is effectively a poll of polls as being fit for nothing more than discussions at middle-class dinner parties. Methodologically problematic though the data undoubtedly are, the figures still get noticed by both governments and media commentators. </p>
<p>In the UK, for example, The Guardian was quick to <a href="http://tinyurl.com/nz7g2tl">point the finger</a> at Australia and Syria as the “big decliners”. <a href="http://tinyurl.com/q8hfuvl">India Today</a> was no less sharply out of the blocks, claiming “India was less corrupt than Pakistan” (forgetting to mention that India, if the CPI is taken at face value, was still more corrupt than most). The <a href="http://tinyurl.com/kal4cgy">Philippines government</a> also pointed out what it claimed was its own contribution to the Philippines nudging up nine spots in the ranking.</p>
<p>We should all be just a little careful before making too many judgements based on this sort of data. Some states clearly do face systemic corruption challenges that are daunting in both size and scope, others now have excellent records of keeping their respective houses in order. The cynic might nonetheless argue that we were well aware of this before the index was but a twinkle in the eyes of Transparency International’s founders. Judging success stories and those who “could do better” is certainly an exercise that makes sense, but you can’t do so solely on the basis of what this data purportedly reveals.</p>
<p>Let’s take a closer look at the UK’s scores over the years. The UK polled scores of 86 and 87 (tenth and 11th positions respectively) for the five-year period from 2002-2006, dropping slightly to 84 in 2007. Yet it slipped significantly to 77 in 2008, polling the same score in 2009, and then 74 in 2010. Only in the 2013 poll did it begin to recover just a little (back to 76 and 14th position overall). </p>
<p>There may have been a significant rise in the amount of corruption evident in the UK during the late 2000s and that could explain the poorer performance. More plausible, however, is the interpretation that Brits (or, more pertinently, those who were asked for their perceptions of the Brits) thought there was more corruption about largely on the basis of the unearthing of a large scandal involving the expenses accounts of British parliamentarians. </p>
<p>The sums of money involved in that episode were, in the great scheme of things, relatively small – there really is only so much one can claim for a bath plug, new set of kitchen utensils or even <a href="http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1897682_1897683_1897669,00.html">moat cleaning</a> – but the impression left was one of snouts well and truly in the trough. So, did corruption in the UK really get worse during this period? It could conceivably have done, but it is exceptionally unlikely the data was actually a reflection of that.</p>
<p>So what value can be gleaned from this index? With the exception of periodically shining a light on the issue of corruption itself – something for which Transparency International does indeed deserve plenty of praise – the answer, in truth, is probably not much at all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/21094/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Hough does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Corruption, so it would seem, is the talk of the town. In the past week alone we’ve seen stories emerge of a high-ranking official at a respected Chinese university trying to emigrate to avoid prosecution…Daniel Hough, Professor of Politics, University of SussexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/117312013-01-23T19:33:32Z2013-01-23T19:33:32ZDespite tough lessons for Australian miners, transparency should still be a goal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/19499/original/25v9kp5w-1358906676.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C10%2C970%2C558&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The replacement of Tom Albanese by Sam Walsh as Rio Tinto chief following write-downs on Riversdale Mining in Mozambique indicates some of the continuing difficulties of working in developing countries.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Two recent events have highlighted the potential pitfalls of miners doing business in developing states.</p>
<p>The first was the departure of Tom Albanese as Rio Tinto’s Chief Executive following a $13.3 billion write-down that included $3 billion impairment charges on its Mozambique coal investment, Riversdale Mining. The other was the resignation of Professor Ross Garnaut (discussed in detail <a href="http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/pacific-beat/extended-interview-ross-garnaut-former-png-development-fund-chair/1076028">here</a>) as Chair of the PNG Development Fund after a public disagreement with Prime Minister Peter O'Neill. </p>
<p>Mining companies, including those based in Australia, have long been attracted to developing states, and as a result face problems unique to an industry in which the most lucrative finds are often found in the most risky operating regions. These firms, driven by the necessity to add new and proven and probable reserves to their balance sheets, will continue to face significant levels of sovereign risk.</p>
<p>In addition to the risk-reward payoff for firms, growth in the mining sector presents both positives and negatives for developing states. Multinational mining firms such as Rio Tinto bring with them a level of legitimacy and authority over areas such as environmental practices and development of local communities. </p>
<p>An emerging area of scholarship highlights the role firms play in setting the rules and regulations within developing states. Known as private governance, this area of research suggests that firms will self-regulate, often going above and beyond what is required by the state. Furthermore, these regulations may positively influence other firms operating in similar areas, or may even be adopted by host governments. </p>
<p>The idea of promoting regulation appears incongruent with the aims of mineral extractive firms who, like all corporations have a responsibility to shareholders to maximise profits. However, the evolution of the <a href="http://eiti.org/">Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative</a> (EITI) shows us that firms can indeed be dually motivated by profit and an acceptance of the norm of transparency. </p>
<p>The initiative is entirely voluntary and yet it currently has 70 corporate supporters, all of whom support the initiative’s core goals of disclosure and improved governance of mining industries in developing states. However, it should be noted that there is no requirement for these firms to disclose payments to governments, with this only occurring when the state is an EITI Compliant Country.</p>
<p>While the EITI is not perfect – its reliance on transparency as a norm results in several weaknesses – it is a way in which firms can contribute positively to the development goals of host states. Mozambique is a Compliant Country within the EITI, meaning the country’s ability to reconcile taxation from its emerging mining industry revenues has been deemed to be adequate. </p>
<p>In addition the country ranks 123rd of 176 countries included in <a href="http://www.transparency.org/cpi2012/results">Transparency International’s 2012 Corruption Perception Index</a>. This ranking places the country on par with Vietnam and Sierra Leone, and suggests that while taxation from the country’s mining industry can be accounted for, there remains a distinct lack of transparency elsewhere in the economy. </p>
<p>Rio Tinto participated in the most recent EITI reporting round in Mozambique, released in 2012, with the discrepancy between taxation declared as paid by Rio Tinto, and what was received by the government lower than the 3% threshold set by the EITI. </p>
<p>Overall, the Mozambique EITI team found that taxation payments from all companies largely reconciled, finding only minor discrepancies. As a leading multinational company operating in Mozambique, Rio Tinto’s support for the initiative is important in affirming the initiative’s legitimacy.</p>
<p>While Rio Tinto’s experience participating in reconciliation process was a positive one, it unfortunately did not reflect a strong relationship with the Mozambique government. Upon the announcement of Albanese’s departure, it was revealed that a disagreement with the government over plans to barge coal down the Zambezi (contrary to the government’s wish that it be transported by rail) and a lack of Portuguese speakers amongst Rio’s in-country staff had strained relations with the government, contributing to the firm’s huge writedowns.</p>
<p>Conversely, Papua New Guinea is yet to join the EITI. As recently as September last year the government showed interest in applying for membership and appeared openly committed to transparency in its mine licensing process. Unfortunately the implementation of any transparency measure in Papua New Guinea - including the EITI - would be hampered by pervasive corruption which sees Papua New Guinea ranked 150th on Transparency International’s Corruption Index.</p>
<p>The recent departure of Professor Ross Garnaut, a long-time Papua New Guinea watcher, as head of the PNG development fund was a result of the decision by PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to effectively ban Professor Garnaut from entering PNG. </p>
<p>At the time, Professor Garnaut was Chair of the $1.4 billion PNG Sustainable Development Program, a development fund established by BHP as a response to the Ok Tedi environmental disaster. The dispute arose from comments by Professor Garnaut, which were interpreted as offensive by Mr O’Neill and resulted in a travel ban and eventual resignation. </p>
<p>This reminder of the sovereign risk that Australian mining companies face in return for lucrative mineral deposits should, however, not overshadow the ability Australian firms have to lead the way in contributing to improved mining industry governance in our nearest neighbour. </p>
<p>Australia has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Papua New Guinea government supporting its aims to eventually join the EITI. This is an important step, but also needs to be accompanied by pressure on Australian mining firms to exercise private governance and lead on the issue of transparency and disclosure – as well as on important environmental considerations arising from mineral extraction. </p>
<p>While it’s been a tough week for Australian mineral extractive firms operating overseas, we should not lose sight of the benefits these firms can bring to host states. Research on private governance tells us that firms can both increase profitability and contribute to positive development outcomes – often through voluntary membership of initiatives such as the EITI. </p>
<p>The promotion of transparency and a focus on disclosure can not only assist citizens of developing states in holding their governments to account, it can also benefit the firms involved. Firms operating in EITI countries are likely to engage in less corruption and graft as well as meeting shareholder expectations of best-practice social responsibility. </p>
<p>As Rio Tinto’s experience in Mozambique shows us, while private governance is not a panacea for the potential downside risks of mining in the developing world, it remains one important piece of the puzzle. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/11731/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ainsley Elbra does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Two recent events have highlighted the potential pitfalls of miners doing business in developing states. The first was the departure of Tom Albanese as Rio Tinto’s Chief Executive following a $13.3 billion…Ainsley Elbra, PhD candidate, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.