Public-Private Linkages
« Previous Entries Next Entries »Corruption and Fiscal Deficits in Rich Countries
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010Some 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’. I am committing the heresy of focusing on the link between corruption [...]
Wall Street Reform and Beyond
Friday, April 16th, 2010For 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. Yet I had limited success, other than getting some articles published in [...]
Breaking the Cycle of Crime and Corruption (while questioning existence of the cycle)
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010The 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…
Transparent Aid for Haiti’s Reconstruction: Capture Matters
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010On 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 [...]
Regulatory Capture outside of Finance: NHTSA not just asleep at the Toyota wheel?
Friday, February 5th, 2010Plenty has been written on the role of financial institutions in the global crisis, and also in how they may have influenced their own generous rescue by the government. Many writings also touch on the ineffective role of the financial regulatory institutions. Some of the writings, including in this space, have suggested that such financial [...]
Misrule of Law Matters: Time to Reboot?
Thursday, January 21st, 2010A full fledged reboot of the Rule of Law and the Law and Development fields may be salutary, and it may also improve aid effectiveness. I am not a legal scholar, but alongside many legal experts was invited to join a Symposium on the Future of Law and Development. Valuable contributions ensued, now published [...]
On the changing ethos at Goldman Sachs (they showed up to this meeting)
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009We know that key Wall Street investment bankers did not show up to this past Monday meeting called by President Obama. We just wrote about it. No such problem with no-shows in this other recent meeting held between the head of Goldman Sachs (Lloyd Blankfein, who was among those who did not make it to [...]
Power shifting back from Washington to New York: Recapture of the State in the offing?
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Imagine you hold a very high position in the US Government, in Washington, DC. And you believe it is important to talk to the top Wall Street bankers, to nudge them to be more modest about their bonuses, and more generous about their lending. You call a meeting with these top bankers in Washington. The [...]
International Anti-Corruption Day 2009: An Hour of Silence to Reflect and Reboot
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009As Wednesday, December 9th dawns, there is a dim reminder that one is supposed to ‘celebrate’ International Anti-Corruption. ‘Dim reminder’ to ‘celebrate’ in quotation marks indeed, because unfortunately anti-corruption continues to be largely in the back-burner for most world powers, for most international institutions, and for many of their leaders. Or worse…
Gobernabilidad e Ingreso de Chile a la OCDE
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009Chile está por ingresar a la Organización para la Cooperación y Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE). Un gran logro. La OCDE decidirá formalmente en las próximas semanas, pero no quedan dudas al respecto.
Fighting Corruption when the World is Flat: from Namibia to China
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009Namibia is one of the countries in Africa that has been serious about governance. We see this in the latest Governance Indicators. Such commitment to good governance includes anti-corruption efforts. Yet often it is hard to figure out where fighting corruption may lead to, in today’s globalized world. A large bribery case is being [...]
Indicadores Mundiales de Gobernabilidad 2009
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009Acabamos de salir a la luz con los Indicadores Mundiales de Gobernabilidad 2009, y con el nuevo reporte ‘Governance Matters’. El resumen en español, el reporte, y los datos estan aqui. In French, here…
Governance Matters 2009: Learning From Over a Decade of the Worldwide Governance Indicators
Monday, June 29th, 2009Today we are releasing the report Governance Matters VIII, which includes the new update of the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI). Now collaborating from the Brookings Institution, I continue to take part in this research project with my former World Bank colleagues Aart Kraay and Massimo Mastruzzi. In the WGI we construct and [...]
Captura del Estado y Corrupción Legal en los EEUU: Realidad o Ilusión?
Saturday, April 25th, 2009Hace más de una década comenzamos con mi ex-colega Joel Hellman el proyecto de investigación sobre ‘captura del estado’. Nos enfocamos en las economías de transición de aquellos tiempos, donde en países como Rusia y Ucrania los oligarcas eran tan poderosos que, con sobornos e influencia indebida, capturaban las leyes, regulaciones y políticas públicas del [...]
Will showdown on Global Financial Regulation be averted at the G-20 Summit?
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009The stillness of the dark wee hours of Wednesday in London is already being disrupted by the news buzz of a likely showdown between the leaders of France and Germany, Sarkozy and Melkert, vs. Barack Obama of the US. This in the eve of the G-20 Summit here…
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