Taking the Offensive Against Corruption
Subverting
Corruption
Robert Klitgaard
The focus of countries' anticorruption efforts typically begins with
consciousness raising, shifts to making governments less susceptible, and then addresses
the problem of corrupt systems. When this third stage is reached, what measures can
governments, concerned citizens, and others take to subvert entrenched corruption? Making Anticorruption
Agencies More Effective
Jeremy Pope and Frank Vogl
National anticorruption agencies, which could be a vital force in
preventing corruption, are frequently so politicized that they are ineffective. In this
article, two officials of Transparency International discuss how anticorruption agencies
can become key players in the war against bribery.
Governance
Matters: From Measurement to Action
Daniel Kaufmann, Aart Kraay, and Pablo Zoido-Lobatón
Policymakers generally rely on anecdotal evidence to assess the quality of
governance, but this information is often misleading and incomplete. How can governments
and civil society best encourage institutional change by developing and applying a
systematic approach to measuring governance, its determinants, and its consequences?
Stakeholders,
Governance, and the Russian Enterprise Dilemma
Raj Desai and Itzhak Goldberg
Over the past decade, Russia's efforts to achieve economic growth and
restructure its economy have been seriously hampered by a dearth of investment and the
proliferation of barter and arrears. Given current conditions, how might Russian economic
reform efforts best be supported?
Trade
Trade
Liberalization in the Caribbean
Janet Stotsky, Esther Suss, and Stephen Tokarick
Since the mid-1990s, the governments of Caribbean countries have
demonstrated a firm commitment to trade liberalization. What steps have they taken, what
have the results been, and what further steps should they consider taking?
The Duration
of Terms of Trade Shocks in Sub-Saharan Africa
Paul Cashin and Catherine Pattillo
A characteristic common to the commodity-exporting developing countries of
sub-Saharan Africa is that movement in their terms of trade is a key determinant of
macroeconomic performance and has an important impact on real national incomes. However,
there are marked differences across these countries in the typical duration of terms of
trade shocks.
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Tanzania's
Experience with Trade Liberalization
Oussama Kanaan
After Tanzania's economy deteriorated during the 1970s and early 1980s, it
took a series of bold steps to liberalize trade. How successful have these efforts been in
improving its economic performance, and what lessons can other developing countries derive
from Tanzania's experience? Comrades or
Competitors? Trade Links Between China and Other East Asian Economies
Prakash Loungani
Has China's emergence as a major exporter dampened the prospects of other
Asian economies? Although many have suggested that the answeris "yes," the
evidence to support such an adversarial view of trade links between China and East Asian
economies is hard to come by.
Labor Markets and Banking
European Labor
Markets and EMU: Challenges Ahead
Rüdiger Soltwedel, Dirk Dohse, and Christiane Krieger-Boden
The debate about European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has so far
been dominated by questions of fiscal convergence and macroeconomic stability. Far less
attention has been given to EMU's effects on labor markets, although labor market
performance will be crucial in determining the long-term success or failure of EMU.
The New World
of Banking
Tomás J.T. Balińo and Angel Ubide
Four trends are fundamentally altering the financial world: consolidation
of institutions, globalization of operations, development of new technologies, and
universalization of banking. Each of these poses challenges for the effective supervision
and regulation of the financial sector.
Agricultural
Development Banks: Close Them or Reform Them?
Hans Dieter Seibel
Agricultural development banks were established to extend credit and other
financial services to customers not considered creditworthy by commercial banks. Although
frequently unprofitable, they can play an important role in the fight against rural
poverty. Should these banks be closed or are they worth revamping?
Financial Focus
Improving the
Framework for Reporting on International Reserves
Anne Y. Kester
During the international financial crises of the late 1990s, deficiencies
were uncovered in the publicly available information on countries' international reserves.
A new template and operational guidelines have been developed to promote improved
disclosure of such data. |
