Corruption and good governance

Government should promote sustainable human development in ways that reduce disparities in income, well-being, education and opportunity among all people today - while keeping the best interests of future generations in minds. This UNDP discussion paper studies the issue of corruption, isolating its underlying economic causes in the industrial and developing world. It also assesses options for combating corruption, highlighting important lessons learned from reform experiences of a number of countries and discussing both generic reforms designed to increase the risks of engaging in corrupt activities and specific reforms to reduce incentives for corruption in particular programmes. It makes a distinction between four main domestic reform strategies, namely: reducing incentives for payoffs, enforcing anticorruption laws, reforming the civil service and instituting checks and balances. The concluding section considers the role of the international lending and donor communities in supporting systemic reform and in assuring the integrity of the projects they finance. It also evaluates other international efforts to combat corruption. It underlines that no comprehensive reform programme can be credible without support from a country's political and economic elite.