Although today corruption is one of the key issues in the international development debate, not so long ago it was a taboo topic relegated to the realm of domestic politics and not considered in the context of economic reforms. A person whose work has significantly changed this perception is Daniel Kaufmann, outgoing Director of Global Programs at World Bank Institute. Probably his greatest accomplishment has been the creation of Worldwide Governance Indicators, a tool that for the first time quantified the performance of countries around the globe in six crucial dimensions of governance.
Mr. Kaufmann is leaving the World Bank after many years there and moving on to the Brookings Institution. Today he delivered his farewell lecture, which quite fittingly coincided with December 9 being the International Anti-Corruption Day.
In the past, the World Bank and other donor institutions tended to focus on economic issues in a very technocratic way. But over the years economists continued to struggle with the “why” question: why so many people continue to suffer from poverty despite all the technical expertise the international community can offer them? Kaufmann was among the pioneers who recognized that governance and corruption had something to do with it, even though at the time this was not a popular thing to say.
His research shows a 300% development dividend in the long run for countries that improve their governance and control corruption. But he also emphasized that those reforms are long and difficult because of vested interests and state capture. The current global financial crisis has proven that striving for better governance is as important in developed countries as it is in developing ones. And despite all the talk about anti-corruption, practical outcomes still have a way to go.
Published Date: December 09, 2008