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Date: March 28, 2024 Thu

Time: 9:47 am

Results for anti-corruption

3 results found

Author: Appleby, Gabrielle

Title: A Federal Anti-Corruption Agency for Australia?

Summary: Effective institutions to prevent, detect, expose and remedy official corruption are vital at all levels of government. Under Articles 6 and 36 of the UN Convention Against Corruption (2004), governments including Australia's have committed to ensuring they have 'a body or bodies or persons specialised' in combatting corruption, through prevention and enforcement. A crucial question for Australia's national integrity system is what shape these institutions should take at a federal level, moving forward. The question is made natural by Australia's long history of specialist anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) at State level, including the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (NSW ICAC) (1988), Queensland Crime & Corruption Commission (1991), WA Corruption & Crime Commission (1992), Tasmanian Integrity Commission (2010), Victorian Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC, 2012) and SA Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (SA ICAC, 2012). However, the question is also more complex than might first appear. Despite their important achievements, State integrity systems including these agencies are confronting their own problems, including: - Variable and inconsistent legal definitions of official corruption; - Questions over whether ACA's efforts are properly prioritised, proactive and coordinated with other agencies; - Concerns over the action taken to deal properly with individuals who engage in or benefit from corrupt conduct, once exposed; - Debates over whether ACAs have the right powers, sufficient resources and necessary independence from government; and - The adequacy of accountability, oversight and performance assurance

Details: Brisbane: Griffith University; Transnational International Australia, 2017. 39p.

Source: Internet Resource: Discussion paper no.1 - Strengthening Australia’s national integrity system: priorities for reform: Accessed March 23, 2017 at: http://transparency.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Griffith-University-TIA-Discussion-Paper-A-Federal-ICAC-Integrity-of-Purpose-March-2017.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Australia

URL: http://transparency.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Griffith-University-TIA-Discussion-Paper-A-Federal-ICAC-Integrity-of-Purpose-March-2017.pdf

Shelf Number: 144546

Keywords:
Anti-Corruption
Corruption
Political Corruption

Author: Gans-Morse, Jordan

Title: Reducing Bureaucratic Corruption: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on What Works

Summary: This article offers the first comprehensive review of the interdisciplinary state of knowledge regarding anti-corruption policies, with a particular focus on reducing corruption among civil servants. Drawing on the work of economists, political scientists, sociologists, and anthropologists, we examine seven categories of anti-corruption strategies: (1) rewards and penalties; (2) monitoring; (3) restructuring bureaucracies; (4) screening and recruiting; (5) anti-corruption agencies; (6) educational campaigns; and (7) international agreements. Notably, rigorous empirical evaluation is lacking for the majority of commonly prescribed anti-corruption strategies. Nevertheless, we find growing evidence of the effectiveness of anti-corruption audits and e-governance. In addition, adequate civil service wages seem to be a necessary but insufficient condition for control of corruption. An emerging skepticism regarding the effectiveness of anti-corruption agencies also is apparent in the literature. We conclude with broader lessons drawn from our review, such as the recognition that when corruption is a systemic problem, it cannot be treated in the long-term with individual-level solutions.

Details: Chicago: Northwestern Institute for Policy Research, 2017. 60p.

Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper Series: WP-17-20: Accessed April 6, 2018 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2930520

Year: 2017

Country: United States

URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2930520

Shelf Number: 149706

Keywords:
Anti-Corruption
Corruption
Fraud

Author: Congressional Research Service

Title: Combating Corruption in Latin America: Congressional Considerations

Summary: Corruption of public officials in Latin America continues to be a prominent political concern. In the past few years, 11 presidents and former presidents in Latin America have been forced from office, jailed, or are under investigation for corruption. As in previous years, Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index covering 2018 found that the majority of respondents in several Latin American nations believed that corruption was increasing. Several analysts have suggested that heightened awareness of corruption in Latin America may be due to several possible factors: the growing use of social media to reveal violations and mobilize citizens, greater media and investor scrutiny, or, in some cases, judicial and legislative investigations. Moreover, as expectations for good government tend to rise with greater affluence, the expanding middle class in Latin America has sought more integrity from its politicians. U.S. congressional interest in addressing corruption comes at a time of this heightened rejection of corruption in public office across several Latin American and Caribbean countries. Whether or not the perception that corruption is increasing is accurate, it is nevertheless fueling civil society efforts to combat corrupt behavior and demand greater accountability. Voter discontent and outright indignation has focused on bribery and the economic consequences of official corruption, diminished public services, and the link of public corruption to organized crime and criminal impunity. In some countries, rejection of tainted political parties and leaders from across the spectrum has challenged public confidence in governmental legitimacy. In some cases, condemnation of corruption has helped to usher in populist presidents. For example, a populist of the left won Mexico's election and of the right Brazil's in 2018, as winning candidates appealed to end corruption and overcome political paralysis. The 2017 U.S. National Security Strategy characterizes corruption as a threat to the United States because criminals and terrorists may thrive under governments with rampant corruption. Studies indicate that corruption lowers productivity and mars competitiveness in developing economies. When it is systemic, it can spur migration and reduce GDP measurably. The U.S. government has used several policy tools to combat corruption. Among them are sanctions (asset blocking and visa restrictions) against leaders and other public officials to punish and deter corrupt practices, and programming and incentives to adopt anti-corruption best practices. The United States has also provided foreign assistance to some countries to promote clean or "good" government goals. U.S. efforts include assistance to strengthen the rule of law and judicial independence, law enforcement training, programs to institutionalize open and transparent public sector procurement and other clean government practices, and efforts to tap private-sector knowledge to combat corruption. This report examines U.S. strategies to help allies achieve anti-corruption goals, which were once again affirmed at the Summit of the Americas held in Peru in April 2018, with the theme of "Democratic Governance against Corruption." The case studies in the report explore: - Brazil's collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice and other international partners to expand investigations and use tools such as plea bargaining to secure convictions; - Mexico's efforts to strengthen protections for journalists and to protect investigative journalism generally, and mixed efforts to implement comprehensive reforms approved by Mexico's legislature; and - the experiences of Honduras and Guatemala with multilateral anti-corruption bodies to bolster weak domestic institutions, although leaders investigated by these bodies have tried to shutter them. Some analysts maintain that U.S. funding for "anti-corruption" programming has been too limited, noting that by some definitions, worldwide spending in recent years has not exceeded $115 million annually. Recent congressional support for anti-corruption efforts includes: training of police and justice personnel, backing for the Trump Administration's use of targeted sanctions, and other efforts to condition assistance. Policy debates have also highlighted the importance of combating corruption related to trade and investment. The 116th Congress may consider the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which would revise the NAFTA trade agreement, and contains a new chapter on anti-corruption measures.

Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2019. 48p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 28, 2019 at: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R45733.pdf

Year: 2019

Country: Latin America

URL: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R45733.pdf

Shelf Number: 156054

Keywords:
Anti-Corruption
Bribery
Corruption
Latin America
Organized Crime
Public Officials
Public Services