Global Corruption Report: 2003 (Transparency International)

The Global Corruption Report is an annual evaluation of the state of corruption around the world, published by Transparency International, the world’s leading anti-corruption NGO. Corruption is one of the greatest challenges of the contemporary world. It undermines good government, fundamentally distorts public policy, leads to the misallocation of resources, harms the private sector and sector development and particularly hurts the poor. The GCR includes regional reports on every region in the world identifying challenges and successes in the fight against corruption. It also explores different kinds of corruption, measures being taken to fight corruption, region-wide trends and the factors that explain these trends. The Data and Research section of the Report contains several corruption-related indices and data surveys, drawn from a range of organizations such as the OECD, IMF, World Bank, UNDP and Pricewaterhousecoopers. The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which ranks countries from the least to most corrupt is also part of the Report. In this year’s edition, Finland is ranked number 1 with Bangladesh coming in as the most corrupt country. The United States came in at 16th position behind Britain (13th) and ahead of France (23rd). This year there is also a special focus section, which looks at access to information. In addition to an overview of the issues, there are detailed looks at campaigning, e-government, company disclosure, media’s role and freedom of information legislation. THE GLOBAL CORRUPTION REPORT IS AIMED AT A WIDE AUDIENCE: It is essential reading for policy-makers – with corruption now at the centre of the policy agenda across much of the world, policy-makers must keep in touch with recent research. Business executives are increasingly recognizing the need to take anti-corruption measures – the GCR provides a strong case for action and addresses many of the measures being taken by businesses. Journalists will find documented in the GCR up-to-date assessments of corruptions in many countries around the world, and striking new data and research findings. Civil society activists engaged in the fight against corruption and related struggles will find news of actions taken by civil society groups elsewhere in the world and key world developments. For academics and students in many fields, the GCR both provides an important annual record and contains expert assessments and recent empirical findings from a wide range of researchers. The Report is relevant to all those studying governance, whether in the fields of political science, international relations, economics, law, public sector management or development studies. It is also key reading for students of business and management who are concerned with business ethics.