Less sanctions, more prevention to fight corruption in global development
Recent research suggests that prevention and awareness campaigns arguably do more for anti-corruption efforts than legal repercussions. Experts weighed in on the issue last week during the World Bank's annual meetings in Washington, D.C.
The World Bank’s efforts to stamp out corruption in bank-funded projects continue to be hampered by the fact that there has not yet been a true shift in hearts and minds about eradicating graft. One way to tackle this problem is to focus more on prevention over legal sanctions and engage civil society, experts agreed last week during a panel discussion at the institution’s annual meetings in Washington, D.C. “That power of prevention … can also be accomplished at the civil society level” said Gianluca Esposito, senior counsel at the International Monetary Fund. Recent research from the University of Bocconi in Italy presented during the discussion suggests that prevention and awareness campaigns arguably do more for anti-corruption efforts than legal repercussions. “Prevention and awareness are an underrepresented measure in preventing corruption,” said Leonardo Borlini, assistant professor of EU Law and head of the university’s participation in the Anti-Corruption Academic Initiative. So why doesn’t the World Bank do precisely that? “Unfortunately, the bank’s budget for prevention is zero,” an official from the institution’s Integrity Vice Presidency told Devex after the panel. The Integrity Vice Presidency officially considers prevention as a key area to stop corruption in bank-funded projects. Its Preventive Services Unit gathers information from previous investigations to provide World Bank staff and clients with practical tips that can help them identify and stop fraud. The advantage of civil society in facilitating prevention, however, seems largely based on location, according to Pascale Dubois, chief suspension and debarment officer at the bank. “If you’re in civil society, you can go and also speak to your government and refer to the local laws or the regional conventions on the basis of the international treaties, and that’s something civil societies are equipped to do,” Dubois said. Do you think diverting more funds to prevention and engaging civil society can really make a difference in fighting corruption related to global development programs? Please let us know by sending an email to news@devex.com or leaving a comment below. Read more development aid news online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive top international development headlines from the world’s leading donors, news sources and opinion leaders — emailed to you FREE every business day.
The World Bank’s efforts to stamp out corruption in bank-funded projects continue to be hampered by the fact that there has not yet been a true shift in hearts and minds about eradicating graft.
One way to tackle this problem is to focus more on prevention over legal sanctions and engage civil society, experts agreed last week during a panel discussion at the institution’s annual meetings in Washington, D.C.
“That power of prevention … can also be accomplished at the civil society level” said Gianluca Esposito, senior counsel at the International Monetary Fund.
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Molly Anders is a former U.K. correspondent for Devex. Based in London, she reports on development finance trends with a focus on British and European institutions. She is especially interested in evidence-based development and women’s economic empowerment, as well as innovative financing for the protection of migrants and refugees. Molly is a former Fulbright Scholar and studied Arabic in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.
