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Overcoming Corruption Benefits All
Corruption feeds off the
$9.5 trillion
or
13%
of global GDP.
According to
World Bank estimates,
more than
$1 trillion
is paid in bribes alone
each year and the total
cost of corruption is
$2.6 trillion a year —
equal to
5%
of global GDP.
How to reduce corruption
While corruption is hard to eradicate, there are steps that all governments
— at national, regional, city and local levels — can take to reduce it.
One basic requirement is that governments create a climate in which
corruption becomes unacceptable. Given the scale of corruption, this is
challenging. However, there have been a number of initiatives aimed at
making it clear to government officials at all levels that corruption, in any
form, will be punished.
Institutional-level measures that countries can adopt to tackle corruption
include the G8 core principles around transparency of ownership,
which have been endorsed by the G20 group of nations and the B20
business group. Establishing transparency in beneficial ownership can
be challenging, especially for countries with limited resources. However,
improving adoption of globally consistent principles is an important
measure to combat corruption.
Another G20 recommendation is that governments implement trade
agreements that focus on transparency and include specific anti-
corruption clauses. The G20 also recommends that governments enforce
the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and UN Convention against Corruption,
which set out standards in relation to criminalizing bribery, enforcing
laws and developing effective international cooperation in investigating,
prosecuting and recovering the proceeds of corruption.
The increasing inclusion of anti-corruption legislation into national laws —
with suitable penalties for infringement — is welcome. However, it is crucial
that these laws are actually enforced. A 2014 report by Transparency
International showed that of 41 country signers of the OECD Anti-
Bribery Convention, 22 of the countries were found to have ‘little or no
enforcement’ of national corruption laws.
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Source: Exporting Corruption: Progress Report 2014, Transparency International,
October 23, 2014