Corruption
« Previous EntriesWill now FIFA finally ban North Korea from International Soccer, moving away from double standards?
Saturday, July 31st, 2010It is well known that a month ago Sepp Blatter, the president of the world’s soccer governing body, FIFA, was irritated, vociferous and quick to officially react when French politicians engaged on a debate about the performance of their national football squad at the South Africa World Cup. Imperiously, and consistent with the monopolistic [...]
Wall Street Financial Reform: Less than meets the eye on Financial Institutions, More than meets the eye on Oil Companies
Friday, July 16th, 2010
The 2,500 page long Dodd-Frank Financial Regulatory Reform Bill has passed through the United States Senate. The bill will now be signed into law by President Barack Obama. It signals a halt to the deregulatory process that the U.S. financial system has experienced for almost fifteen years.
The bill promises to strengthen consumer protection. In principle, it [...]
Blowing the Vuvuzela on FIFA: Governance Reforms for Development
Friday, July 9th, 2010Sixty-two games have been played at the 2010 World Cup, which has been marvelously hosted by South Africa. Only two games remain; one tomorrow for third place, and then Sunday’s much awaited World Cup Final between Spain and the Netherlands. In a couple of days, we will have a brand new world soccer champion. [...]
Scrap FIFA World Soccer Ranking: Geography and Governance predict World Cup results
Friday, June 25th, 2010 In its own World Soccer Federation portal, FIFA.com, boasts: ’since 1993, the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking has become a regular part of international sports and an important indicator to find where teams stand in world’s football’s pecking order…’
Well, not quite, as it turns out, if judging by the results from an analysis of the Group [...]
Greece and Volcanoes, BP Oil and Hurricanes
Saturday, May 29th, 2010 The earth’s wrath is ubiquitous these days, as vividly witnessed by the fiery eruptions of the Eyjafjallajokull, Turrialba and Arenal, Pacahua, and Tungurahua, the active volcanoes in Iceland, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Ecuador, respectively.
In ancient Greece, a volcano eruption was a sign of divine disapproval. It is unclear whether modern Greece has taken notice.
For better [...]
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will not be met unless governance improves
Friday, May 14th, 2010In 2000, the international community agreed on eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Among others, countries pledged to halve extreme poverty, achieve universal education, halt the spread of HIV/AIDS and reduce child and maternal mortality rates by 2015. Ahead of the UN’s upcoming September 2010 Summit on the MDGs, countries and aid donors have begun [...]
Does Grease Money Speed Up the Wheels of Commerce?
Sunday, May 2nd, 2010Does bribery reduce bureaucratic red tape to an enterprise? That is a question that Shang-Jin Wei and I investigated in a research paper over a decade ago. The Economist writes about it in their current issue in an article called (following Moises Naim’s coining) ‘The Corruption Eruption’ , here, also citing the work of [...]
Corruption and Fiscal Deficits in Rich Countries
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 Some of my research tends to challenge orthodoxy, such as taking issue with the claim that the developing ‘world’ is the corrupt one (contrasting wealthy nations); that corruption is largely about blatant bribery, and that corruption and macro-economic stability should be viewed separately from each other by different types of ‘experts’.
Right now I am committing the heresy of focusing on the [...]
Wall Street Reform and Beyond
Friday, April 16th, 2010 For years I have been arguing that regulatory and state capture is a major challenge in many countries, including in the US. I wrote papers, presented analysis and evidence, even argued the case to top executives at the World Economic Forum long ago.
All with limited success, other than getting some articles published in journals [...]
Breaking the Cycle of Crime and Corruption (while questioning existence of the cycle)
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 The World Policy Journal asked for the views of a few of us on “How Can Nations Break the Cycle of Crime and Corruption?” I answered, in a just-published short piece, though I disagreed with the main premise behind such question: Crime and Corruption need not be inextricably linked, or party to a vicious cycle.
In [...]
Transparent Aid for Haiti’s Reconstruction: Capture Matters
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
On Wednesday, March 31, international donors are convening at the United Nations to discuss Haiti’s long-term reconstruction plans and to make assistance pledges. The publicly disseminated Action Plan for Reconstruction and National Development of Haiti, produced by the government of Haiti with inputs from the U.N., European Commission, the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and civil [...]
What Happens in Cancun Shouldn’t Stay in Cancun: Toward Transparency at the Inter-American Development Bank
Friday, March 19th, 2010This weekend the Inter-American Development Bank (IaDB*) will hold its annual meetings in the popular Mexican resort city of Cancun. Much of the focus will be on the capital increase for the Bank, which made an original request for an increase that topped US$ 180 billion. Subsequent estimates of what the main shareholders may [...]
Desastres Naturales y Deberes Nacionales: El Terremoto de Chile en una Perspectiva Internacional
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 Un enfoque amplio de gobernabilidad comparativa conlleva a nuestra conclusión de que Chile ha respondido relativamente bien al mega-terremoto, a pesar de errores serios en la etapa inicial. Identificamos logros, errores, y desafíos en la reacción frente al terremoto, los cuales constituyen una oportunidad de reforma para el país.
Traducción del artículo “Natural Disasters, National Diligence: The Chilean Earthquake in Perspective”, por D. Kaufmann y [...]
Natural Disasters, National Diligence: The Chilean Earthquake in Perspective
Saturday, March 6th, 2010 The Chilean earthquake that hit during the early morning hours of February 27 has brought searing images of devastation; and international news coverage has shown scenes of looting and arson incidents occurring in its immediate aftermath. In Chile, criticism of the government’s response is widespread.
Many are wondering whether numerous deaths and severe destruction could [...]
National Disasters Today Provide Governance Lessons
Monday, March 1st, 2010 Let us consider three countries:
Country 1: Its approach to industrialization has relied heavily on a very large public sector that accounts for well over 40 percent of GDP, and on aid financing from richer countries. The country has no fiscal discipline, running a deficit exceeding 13 percent of GDP. Rather, leaders have focused more [...]