Developing countries: public education to combat corruption and economic crime - the future for developing countries

Many developing countries, and indeed a significant number of developed countries, need a practical strategy to launch future education and prevention programmes against corruption and economic crime. This article offers constructive advice on how to educate the public and gain support to combat the abuses of government officials and private individuals. It advocates, for the development of educational programmes, to address such issues as personal and business ethics, codes of conduct, transparency of operations, accountability of supervisors, increased productivity and good citizenship. It underlines how important it is to teach corruption and economic crime issues during the formative years, which require close collaboration with curriculum development specialists to devise and produce educational materials to be used in schools. Finally, it explains how creative campaigns, using the media, can encourage positive attitudes towards higher standards of integrity in public life and give a better understanding of the economic damage done by corruption and economic crime.