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Making Corruption Disappear in Local Government
Abstract
Local government corruption is a phenomenon across the world. This article draws upon survey work in Victoria, Australia, to show that citizens believe that corruption exists in local government and experience it, but rarely report it to an anti-corruption agency or elsewhere. Even when reported, tracing the outcome from state-level authorities to the local government becomes an exercise in futility, because the corrupt act is dealt with in policy frameworks that make it effectively disappear. As a result, corruption as perceived or experienced in the everyday life of citizens is different from what is defined in law and dealt with by public bodies. While the data here are Australian, the lessons and principles can be applied in many other countries. © 2015
... Many people do not want to involve because strong evidence is required before reporting corruption, anonymity is not guaranteed, or they do not understand their rights; even if they take the decision to report corruption they may not know where to report it (Asthana, 2008). Reporting corruption requires two preconditions, first, positive perception of the quality of anti-corruption governance (i.e., believing that their report will be taken seriously and make difference); and second, a low level of tolerance towards corruption (Masters & Graycar, 2016), both conditions are not guaranteed. For the first condition, people may not believe in their report influence because as it moves from an agency to agency, the report diminishes, it changed from the hard language of allegation to a softer approach to administrative action which makes the act of corruption disappear (Asthana, 2008) Regarding the second condition, people may tolerate corruption, (Muhtar et al., 2018) find that while in 'low-corruption' countries like Sweden voters punish corrupted politicians regardless of the state of economy, in 'high-corruption' countries like Moldavia, voters punish corrupt officials only when the economy is bad. ...
... Government decentralization refers to the "redistribution of powers of decision making in favor of lower levels of administrative machinery" (Gonzalez et al., 2017), Governments decentralized authority to local level assuming that local governments can better tailor the public good to suit local populations (Assad & Alshurideh, 2020). The division of authority among local governments enhances the chance for corruption (Hess, 2017) because as the authority devolves from upper levels, local officials have fewer constraints and more opportunities to abuse their power (Masters & Graycar, 2016). For instance, fiscal decentralization (decentralize the government budget to local governments) provides local officials with opportunity for fraud and aggravate corruption in local government (Tiebout, 1956) Local officials expanded power and their deep involvement in economic affairs provide opportunity for corruption (Masters & Graycar, 2016). ...
... The division of authority among local governments enhances the chance for corruption (Hess, 2017) because as the authority devolves from upper levels, local officials have fewer constraints and more opportunities to abuse their power (Masters & Graycar, 2016). For instance, fiscal decentralization (decentralize the government budget to local governments) provides local officials with opportunity for fraud and aggravate corruption in local government (Tiebout, 1956) Local officials expanded power and their deep involvement in economic affairs provide opportunity for corruption (Masters & Graycar, 2016). As Salloum et al. (2020) discussed, decentralization aggravates corruption and encourages local officials to collude against the central government in China. ...
Corruption in U.S. local government is a phenomenon that boosted by the decentralization tendency. Most of the literature focus on reducing opportunity for corruption by monitoring and controlling the local governments’ transactions. However, opportunity reduction faces limited success in combating local governments’ corruption. This chapter highlights the need to focus on corruption rationalization. According to the Fraud Triangle Theory, committing a crime requires not only an opportunity but also a rationalization process that precedes or follows the crime. The rationalization is a defense mechanism that aims to normalize the crime and restore good self-image by claiming for instance that everybody practices the crime, the crime did not hurt anyone, or the crime was unavoidable etc. This chapter focuses on how corruption in local governments is normalized (rationalized). Particularly, the role of local governments’ leadership in creating and/or maintaining an organizational culture that rationalize corruption.
... For instance, studies suggest the seriousness of alleged offenses is associated with whistleblowing, with more egregious acts increasing the likelihood of reporting (see Wortley et al., 2008). In a study of Australian local governments, Masters and Graycar (2016) find citizens acknowledge and report experiencing corruption yet rarely take action, such as officially reporting allegations to proper authorities. This may be due to perceptions that little will be done to punish government officials or to effectively prevent future corruption (Yates and Graycar, 2020). ...
... This may be due to perceptions that little will be done to punish government officials or to effectively prevent future corruption (Yates and Graycar, 2020). Inaction, in effect, may even contribute in some ways to corruption's virtual disappearance (Masters & Graycar, 2016). More, inaction from elected officials and governance systems to discipline bureaucrats for corrupt or unethical behavior may indicate that some level of misbehavior is acceptable so long as the ends are deemed satisfactory. ...
... Studies of corruption and scandal in political science often focus on the outcomes or effects on electoral politics, specifically examining how citizens hold elected officials accountable via the ballot box and continued support. Consistent with Masters and Graycar (2016), studies suggest there is little appetite among voters to punish corrupt or unethical officials when they believe their interests are represented by those in power (Bauhr & Charron, 2018;Caillier, 2010). In the U.S., studies find constituents fail to punish congressional incumbents under investigation for or charged with corruption, instead reelecting them (Peters & Welch, 1978;Welch & Hibbing, 1997). ...
Despite the serious demands for public organizations to maintain political accountability and bureaucratic responsiveness, rule breaking persists among employees across all levels. Unlike our deeper understanding of corruption of elected officials, myriad questions remain regarding the nature of the public response to policy violations of government bureaucrats working in politically neutral administrative positions. This study uses a survey experiment to investigate factors influencing the intensity of citizens’ recommended punishments for rule-breaking local government managers, specifically testing the effects of managers’ demographic attributes of age, race, and gender as well as their motivations for the violations. Findings strongly suggest that motive matters to citizens in this context, with prosocial rule-breaking managers incurring significantly less harsh penalties than destructive rule-breakers for all age-race-gender profiles. However, an absence of demographic information nullifies penalty differences between prosocial and destructive rule-breaking managers. Among the demographic attributes, only the managers’ race predicted the severity of punishments favored by citizens. No interaction effects between manager attributes were present. Results suggest public communications emphasizing person and purpose are particularly important for local government managers in this context.
... According to Managa (2012), theft of state resources violates the constituents rights, and the communities are denied their needs. This assertion is supported by Masters and Graycar (2016) who postulated that corruption affects the citizen's daily living conditions. Corruption in local government results in poor planning for local resources, for example, water, housing, and roads (Masters and Graycar, 2016: 43). ...
... These services include roads, recreation facilities, houses, and water, among other things. Local government corruption harms the constituents because the municipality fails to deliver the expected services to the citizenry due to poor governance (Masters & Graycar, 2016). Hindess (2013: 06) posits that the behaviour of local government officials and political office bearers are corrupt when they are engaged in the following activities: ...
Although the South African local government is doing its best to ensure enhanced services for its citizenry, disparity in the delivery process remains the real challenge in various municipalities. The unequal distribution of services within municipal wards is resulting in unhappiness because selected communities appear to enjoy services, while others do not. It is acknowledged that limited access to municipal services infringes on one's rights, for example, human dignity and right to life. Some of the municipal services are basic and are the mainstay of human survival, for example, water, housing, and waste removal. It is evident that disparities in the delivery of services could be as a result of various factors within the local municipality affairs, including administration and political influence. This study was conducted to establish the root cause of disparities in service delivery and to ensure equal provision of municipal services. The study adopted the qualitative research methodology to gather data from the Winnie Madikizela Mandela Local Municipality community. An extensive literature review was conducted to comprehend the causes for disparities in the delivery of services. The literature and findings concur that the disparities are as a result of, for example, political interference in administration, corruption and fraud, elevated unemployment levels, and inadequate institutional capacity. The study recommends community participation and external supervision of local governance to encourage openness and fair administration of services rendered.
... We must point out that sub-national corruption is equally harmful to the growth of the community and the quantity and quality of services provided (Coxson, 2009). In addition, at this level of government, corruption is more visible to citizens than corruption at the regional or national level, since local governments affect the daily life of citizens (Masters & Graycar, 2016). ...
... In addition, although it is known that corruption exists at the local level, this fact is rarely reported to the court. In fact, when these acts are reported to the authorities, it turns out to be useless, because the political framework succeeds in making corruption disappear (Masters & Graycar, 2016). Social influences and exposure to dishonesty increase unethical behavior. ...
This article evaluates municipal bureaucratic corruption in Honduras on a sample of 268 observations of Honduran municipalities surveyed by the Latin-American Public Opinion Poll for 2004–2016. This bureaucratic corruption is measured by officials’ request for a bribe from citizens to get some municipal paperwork done. Financial factors do not impact corruption. Officials could take advantage of citizens’ imperfect information (agency problem) to obtain personal benefits and extract income through certain expenditures that allow them to hide corruption. In this regard, Supreme Audit Institution audits refrain officials from incurring corrupt practices by counteracting the agency problem. Accordingly, audit reports should be presented to the municipal council and citizens through open councils. Implementation of digital government would contribute to curbing corruption, as it would minimize officials’ contact with citizens and, consequently, bribery.
... La transparencia y la rendición de cuentas a nivel local, como medio eficaz contra la corrupción local, parecían más complejas que las planteadas anteriormente por los primeros defensores (Dowley, 2006). Aunque la corrupción a nivel de gobierno local es omnipresente (Masters & Graycar, 2016;42), los estudios a fondo sobre la corrupción en los contextos locales están dispersos y han quedado rezagados en relación con los estudios a nivel país (Beeri & Navot, 2013). El estudio de la corrupción en los gobiernos locales puede ayudar a identificar los mecanismos clave en los procesos de corrupción que podrían pasarse por alto en los análisis a nivel país; permitir el desarrollo de las perspectivas teóricas necesarias para comprender la corrupción a ese nivel; y posteriormente informar sobre mejores formas de abordarla (Graaf, 2007;Doig, 2014;Jiménez, García-Quesada, & Villoria, 2014;Masters & Graycar, 2016). ...
... Aunque la corrupción a nivel de gobierno local es omnipresente (Masters & Graycar, 2016;42), los estudios a fondo sobre la corrupción en los contextos locales están dispersos y han quedado rezagados en relación con los estudios a nivel país (Beeri & Navot, 2013). El estudio de la corrupción en los gobiernos locales puede ayudar a identificar los mecanismos clave en los procesos de corrupción que podrían pasarse por alto en los análisis a nivel país; permitir el desarrollo de las perspectivas teóricas necesarias para comprender la corrupción a ese nivel; y posteriormente informar sobre mejores formas de abordarla (Graaf, 2007;Doig, 2014;Jiménez, García-Quesada, & Villoria, 2014;Masters & Graycar, 2016). ...
Los estudios sobre la corrupción han estado dominados por los estudios transnacionales y los estudios a nivel nacional, con una tendencia a descuidar la delgada textura de las prácticas corruptas que sólo puede lograrse mediante ricos estudios contextuales. En consecuencia, las recomendaciones anticorrupción tienden a depender excesivamente de las instituciones oficiales y a abordar los tipos de corrupción diádicos y de mercado. Basado en un diseño de investigación de métodos mixtos en dos etapas, incluyendo 44 entrevistas en profundidad en dos ciudades mexicanas, este artículo desarrolla un marco analítico fundamentado para comprender la consolidación de la corrupción en los gobiernos locales. Los resultados muestran el extraordinario dinamismo, maleabilidad y capacidad de recuperación de los sistemas corruptos, lo que permite eludir las estrategias oficiales de lucha contra la corrupción. En general, el estudio de casos revela los mecanismos a través de los cuales la corrupción se consolida de forma diferente en los gobiernos locales, lo que ayuda a comprender cómo estos sistemas pueden permanecer intactos a lo largo del tiempo a pesar de los cambios en los actores y el entorno institucional de lucha contra la corrupción.
... Although corruption at the local government level is ubiquitous (Masters & Graycar, 2016;42), in-depth studies about corruption in local contexts are dispersed and have lagged relative to country-level studies (Beeri & Navot, 2013). Studying corruption in local governments may help to identify key mechanisms at play in corruption processes that might be overlooked in country-level analyses, allow for the development of theoretical perspectives needed to understand corruption at this level, and then inform better ways to tackle it (Graaf, 2007;Doig, 2014;Jiménez, García-Quesada, & Villoria, 2014;Masters & Graycar, 2016). ...
... Although corruption at the local government level is ubiquitous (Masters & Graycar, 2016;42), in-depth studies about corruption in local contexts are dispersed and have lagged relative to country-level studies (Beeri & Navot, 2013). Studying corruption in local governments may help to identify key mechanisms at play in corruption processes that might be overlooked in country-level analyses, allow for the development of theoretical perspectives needed to understand corruption at this level, and then inform better ways to tackle it (Graaf, 2007;Doig, 2014;Jiménez, García-Quesada, & Villoria, 2014;Masters & Graycar, 2016). ...
Studies on corruption have been dominated by cross-national studies and national-level studies, with a tendency to neglect the fine-grained texture of corrupt practices that can only be achieved by looking at rich contextual studies. As a result, anticorruption recommendations tend to be overly reliant on formal institutions and to address dyadic and venal types of corruption. Based on a two-staged, mixed methods research design—including 44 in-depth interviews in two Mexican cities—this article develops a grounded analytical framework to understand the consolidation of corruption in local governments. Results show corrupt systems’ outstanding dynamism, malleability and resiliency, leading to the circumventing of formal anticorruption strategies. Overall, the case study reveals mechanisms through which corruption differently consolidates in local governments, helping to understand how these systems can remain intact over time despite changes in actors and the anticorruption institutional environment.
... Unlike what is envisaged by decentralization theory, much corruption happens at local level (Masters and Graycar 2016). About 33% of Italian citizens think that local government officials are corrupt 3 and more than 50% believe that corruption is a common practice among public officials engaged in issuing building permits (Cotta et al. 2017;EU 2017). ...
... As stated before, they refer to facts that passed the preliminary procedural stage and for which a legal proceeding aimed at ascertaining criminal responsibility started. 15 Contrary to the predictions of subsidiarity principle, much corruption occurs at local level (Masters and Graycar 2016) and various surveys have shown that many people believe that corruption is common among public officials who issue building permits (Cotta et al. 2017;EU 2017). It is worth noting that, for various reasons, perceived or experienced corruption in the everyday life of citizens is different from what is defined in law and dealt with by public bodies. ...
This paper analyses and looks more closely at the empirical debate regarding the Income Elasticity Hypothesis postulated in relation to the Environmental Kuznets Curve, and the impact of corruption on the relationship between growth and environmental impact, measured in terms of soil sealing. It postulates that when current private rent is high compared to perceived social costs and a large enough minority benefits from the rules, the EKC does not emerge and public intervention fails to perceive social optimality. It also demonstrates that the detrimental relationship between income and environmental impact/quality is contingent on the level of corruption. The latter affects the position and the shape of the inverted EKC, speeding up the exploitation process. It shows that the higher the income, the higher the effect of corruption on the environment. Therefore, it advocates caution against any simplistic inference from EKC. In order to validate this hypothesis, we run a panel data regression model based on data from all Italian regions.
... Official statistics on prosecuted cases of corruption are in many ways an appealing, objective measure of corruption and have indeed been used as a data source in a number of studies. However, although objective, official judicial statistics probably only reveal 'the tip of the iceberg' (e.g., Masters and Graycar 2016;Huberts et al. 2006). Such data may simply reflect the prioritisation given to this problem by the judicial system, reporting rates and/or the efficiency of the criminal investigation process and the legal system, rather than mirroring actual corruption levels (Hamilton and Hammer 2018). ...
Researchers have repeatedly found that corruption has a wide range of negative consequences, not least in developing countries where corruption typically constitutes an endemic part of people’s lives. However, much less is known about the prevalence and effects of corruption in mature democracies. While such states regularly find themselves at the top of anti-corruption rankings, they are not immune to corruption scandals related to, for instance, recruitment to public positions, procurement, the issuance of permits, etcetera.
Against this backdrop, some scholars have argued that the size of the corruption problem in mature democracies may be underestimated. One common and underlying argument is that corruption in these settings takes on hidden and ‘sophisticated’ forms that are difficult to expose, hard to prosecute, and therefore, difficult to measure. Accordingly, corruption in mature democracies has largely been downplayed or overlooked, and hence constitutes a blind spot for most practitioners and corruption scholars. That said, when scholars have paid attention to corruption in mature democracies, the tendency has been to focus on theoretical discussions rather than rigorous empirical research. As a result of measurement problems and data limitations, scholars have found it difficult to assess the extent of corruption in settings characterised by more sophisticated forms of corruption.
As a means of addressing this research gap, the overarching purpose of this thesis is to apply research strategies that allow us to quantify the prevalence and potential effects of corruption risks at the micro level in the context of a mature democracy – Sweden. This is achieved by employing large-scale administrative data combined with statistical methods that measure corruption risks at the granular level of individuals, firms, and processes. I maintain that the approaches employed in the thesis have at least two advantages vis-á-vis the lion’s share of existing corruption research: 1) it makes it possible to detect corruption risks in areas where the presence of corruption has previously been downplayed or unknown; and 2) it estimates corruption risks at the micro level, which allows for a more granular understanding of variations in corruption risks, between both municipalities and organisations.
Ultimately, the results of the thesis show the prevalence of corruption risks in the Swedish public sector in the areas of recruitment to public sector jobs, the rental housing market, and public procurement. Moreover, the thesis also shows that perceived corruption in Swedish municipalities is associated with lower levels of entrepreneurship. In line with a decent amount of previous research, the thesis’s main findings support the notion that subnational variations in institutional quality and impartiality are relevant even in mature democracies.
... The community's demand for the creation of a good national and state life order with a good and clean government system is constantly being echoed (Cárcaba et al., 2022;Fareed et al., 2022;Poppelwell & Overton, 2022). The characteristics of state administration based on the principles of good governance include participation, rule of law, Although various efforts have been made to realize a 'clean government', there are still many problems that hinder the realization of a clean government such as cases of corruption, extortion, extortion, nepotism and abuse of power (Masters & Graycar, 2016). One of the efforts to eradicate the problem of corruption in Indonesia, currently the Corruption Eradication Commission has been formed, however, this does not guarantee that corruption is not rampant in government institutions (Sosiawan, 2019;Yuwanto, 2018). ...
Good governance in Indonesia has started to be implemented since the outbreak of the reform era. Good Governance is one of the reform tools that is absolutely applied in a new government. However, if you look at the development of reforms that have been going on for quite a long time, the implementation of good governance in Indonesia cannot be said to be fully successful in accordance with the aspirations of the previous reforms. The occurrence of a national crisis and various problems in Indonesia were partly caused by weaknesses in government management, especially the bureaucracy which did not heed the principles of good governance. As a result, various problems arise, such as the deteriorating quality of service to the community. This is a qualitative research with a case study approach. Data collection was carried out using semi-structured interviews with 20 applicants who are managers of training institutions and community learning centers (CLC). The results of this study indicate that the implementation of good governance in the Ministry of Education and Culture still has to be improved and this will affect the public services they apply, particularly in 4 aspects namely participation, transparency, responsiveness and equity.
... Consequently, they continue to live in unpleasant conditions due to the lack of municipal services. This frustration highlighted by the citizens corresponds with Managa (2012); Masters & Graycar (2016) and Aranha (2017) that corruption is the principal reason most South African municipalities fail to adequately serve their constituents. ...
This study aims to shed light on the continued difficulties municipalities in South Africa are having in achieving SDG 6 and also explore the impacts of effective governance principles on ensuring sustainable development. To explore this, the study adopted a qualitative research methodology in a form of a conceptual research design to gather secondary data. The secondary data covering SDG 6 challenges and effective governance principles were reviewed and synthesized. Different databases were used to review data from July through October 2022, such as Google Scholar, Google, Sabinet, Scopus, and other online platforms. Different keywords were used to guide and search the existing relevant literature. Secondary data was analyzed using a critical discourse analysis approach. Because of South Africa's lax governance standards, the theoretical findings of this study demonstrate that there are growing concerns about achieving SDG 6 in the near future. However, it can be agreed that progress toward effective governance has been encouraged and promoted, but the challenges remain. Therefore, the study recommends effective and inclusive governance because, without it, South Africa will not achieve its socio-economic goals, like SDG 6. South Africa should put in place structures that support constitutionalism, accountability, democracy, and good governance if it is to meet its development objectives. It is important to overcome lax governance, which is characterized by mismanagement, fraud, bribery, corruption, and a lack of accountability, transparency, and public participation. Again, South Africa should have an efficient government that works to fulfil the localized SDGs and responds to community desires and aspirations enshrined in the Municipal Systems Act (Act 32 of 2000)
... Corruption exist in all countries, no matter how advance their social and economic system are (Muçollari, 2018), and also a major obstacle to democratisation and good governance (Kalinowski, 2016). All throughout the world, local administrations are becoming more corrupt (Masters and Graycar, 2016). In Indonesia, the corruption phenomenon is growing root. ...
The leakage of the Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Daerah (APBD: Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget) has been officially reported by the Corruption Eradication Comission of the Republic of Indonesia to have reached 40 per cent. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of measures to eradicate corruption and the ways that fiscal independence can stop the leakage of local governments budget in western (WI) and eastern (EI) Indonesia. This study uses the System GMM dynamic panel method and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). The result found that effort to eradicate corruption, such as reporting gratification can reduce budget leakage in WI and EI. The result also found the public complaint have the effect of reducing budget leakage in EI, while it continues to grow in WI. Increase the status of the Audit Board (BPK's opinion) can increase budget leakage in WI and EI. Ratio of locally-generated revenue (RLGR) and ratio of transfer (RT) as fiscal independence proxies are defined as triggers for corruption in terms of budget leakage. The budget leakage is bigger in EI than WI, despite the fact that the increase in the leakage ratio the year before caused the leakage in the years that followed. Transparency efforts must continue to be encouraged for the realisation of a clean government.
... I chose to demonstrate a critical analysis of credibility of leadership and local government leaders below on how its plays out in local government. Local Government Corruption Masters and Graycar (2016) noted that corruption in local government is as old as a man and has persisted to undermine institutions of democracy. This was debated to demonstrate that the people's expectations postured in the elections manifesto for electing a political party of integrity get caged by institutionalised rot of governance ills (Sebake, 2020). ...
Elections are about political plan to drive people-centered aspiration. These aspirations provide basis for political parties to develop a manifesto to embrace electioneering. While it is observed that often community quarrel about local government that does not rise to the occasion after the elections. This phenomenon contributed to shift in electoral support generally and created risk to South African manuring democracy. The paper intends to relook at the outcomes of party manifesto system relating to the existing trust decline in the local government elections broadly. This would assist to examine the hypothesis that public trust on the existing political system declined due to lack of "checks and balance" of service delivery persistent decline. The paper is qualitative literature review that analysis desktop observed local government failures and loss of electoral support. The special attention is given to conceptualise inter alia:-policy perspective; ideological context; service delivery outcomes; credibility of leadership; participatory democracy and accountability. Conclusion and recommendations are drawn to reconfigure the political system towards building people-centered service delivery outcomes projected through party manifesto.
... The performance of a region's financial management is not only influenced by financial factors but can also be influenced by non-financial factors, in this study factors that are estimated to affect the performance of regional financial management, namely public participation, accountability, transparency, and integrity. The integrity of the financial management apparatus is needed in achieving institutional goals (Masters & Graycar, 2016). Integrity will avoid deviations or misuse of the regional finances by the local financial management officer (Prihanto, 2020). ...
This research aims to study the effect of the implementation of non-cash transactions, integrity and competence simultaneously and partially on financial management performance in the West Sulawesi Provincial Government. This research used survey research. The research was conducted in the West Sulawesi Provincial Government. The research time was conducted from July 2021 to August 2021. The research population is all employees in the West Sulawesi Provincial Government spread across 42 Regional work unit (Satuan kerja perangkat daerah, SKPD). Determination of samples in this study by purposive sampling with the criteria of the Financial Management Officer (Pejabat Penatausaha Keuangan, PPK) and the Treasurer. The test results showed that partially the variable application of non-cash transactions, integrity and competence had a significant positive effect on financial management performance in the West Sulawesi Provincial Government. The simultaneous variable application of non-cash transactions, integrity and competence has a significant positive effect on the performance of financial management in the West Sulawesi Provincial Government. Variabel competence has the most dominant influence on financial management performance in the West Sulawesi Provincial Government. The research implies that increasing knowledge, skill, and attitude of civil servant are able to enhance the efficient of financial management of local government.
... Some employees may justify that given the effort expended, and beyond their present compensation, it is appropriate to take something (or benefit) that otherwise, they would have received if compensated accordingly. Since employees of local authorities interact directly with the public through day-to-day operations, they acquire broad discretionary powers over the behaviour of people by providing favourable treatment to those who are always looking for potential loopholes and shortcuts in processes and operational matters (Masters & Graycar, 2016). ...
... It is important to investigate the wider context of corruption phenomena because the phenomena is very often connected with transparency, accountability (Lyrio et al., 2018), citizen participation (Feldman & Aliba si c, 2019), institutional settings (Nuristani & Vanhove, 2020), local history, culture, type of leadership (Artello & Albanese, 2021), level of government (Masters & Graycar, 2016), or specific types of public goods or service . ...
Using a new and innovative approach to investigating corruption, the present article discusses whether changes have been recorded in corruption in the Czech Republic over the last hundred years. Drawing on a historical-evolutionary view of corruption, the article seeks to cover a research gap in the legacies of corruption in post-communist economies. The qualitative methodological approach provides deep insight into the researched issue through confidential information related to three major corruption cases from different periods. The article argues that the transformation of corruption under the Communist and post-Communist governments in Czechoslovak and Czech society may be explained from inherited-historical, ontological, and moral-framing perspectives, as well other perspectives, and it provides an overview and explanation of changes in corruption. The major policy implication is that understanding the development of corruption highlights the importance of designing an effective public policy against corruption in post-communist countries.
... Corruption exist in all countries, no matter how advance their social and economic system are (Muçollari, 2018), and also a major obstacle to democratisation and good governance (Kalinowski, 2016). All throughout the world, local administrations are becoming more corrupt (Masters and Graycar, 2016). In Indonesia, the corruption phenomenon is growing root. ...
... The use of focus groups to study corruption is relatively recent and lacks systematization. It is worth mentioning that such methodology has been mainly used to validate findings from surveys and other quantitative methods (Avkiran et al., 2016;Buttle et al., 2016;Centro de Investigaciones Sociol ogicas, 2011;Grødeland, 2013;Liu et al., 2017;Masters and Graycar, 2016;Milojevi c and Krsti c, 2018;Redlawsk and McCann, 2005;Sadigov, 2018). Few studies have used focus group to inform corruption survey designs. ...
Purpose
This article presents focus groups as a method to enhance questionnaire design to frame and test items for a mass survey on corruption and austerity in democracy. Such methodology lacks systematization when it comes to the description of implementation procedures and the discussion of effective contribution to the development of survey questions on sensitive topics. The objective of this article is to contribute to the specialized literature on corruption by offering a novel focus group approach and a roadmap to guide researchers in the field when using this methodology to develop questionnaire items. This hands-on guide can be adaptable to other (survey) studies on issues prone to social desirability bias.
Design/methodology/approach
This article proposes an innovative multi-technique (short questionnaire, visual stimuli and exploratory discussion with expert moderation) focus group approach to collect informal impressions about corruption and austerity. By developing a focus group design through the combination of different research techniques, the authors were able to triangulate reflexive, spontaneous and interactive qualitative bottom-up information about individual perceptions and reactions to sensitive topics. By describing how to implement these groups, other than discussing what type of qualitative information can be extracted from these discussions and to what effect, the authors seek to present a hands-on guide that can be replicated and adapted to similar studies. This roadmap will help researchers to test individual perceptions and reactions to sensitive topics through the use of tailored focus groups in order to enhance the quality of survey questionnaires prior to engaging in a high-cost fieldwork.
Findings
The article concludes that the adoption of the multi-technique focus group approach to requalify and test questions for a nationwide survey gives us a better understanding of the many ethical dilemmas individuals confront when thinking about and expressing their views on sensitive topics prone to social desirability bias. The proposed multi-technique focus group approach proved to be effective to engage participants during sessions and to obtain relevant and unanticipated information for the development of new questionnaire items and the reviewing of old ones.
Research limitations/implications
Implementing Focus Group (FG) in regions with different cultural traditions and levels of development and contrasting the perceptions, values and attitudes of two generations, with different formative backgrounds is not an easy task. In order to secure the adequate number and type of participants, the Focus Group were organized in close collaboration with four higher education institutions and two lifelong learning programs where the sessions took place. Participation was voluntary and consented, in accordance with the applicable legislation and standards for social research.
Practical implications
The article presents an accessible and adaptable roadmap to researchers working in the field of corruption studies as well as anticorruption government agencies and CSOs interested in enhancing the quality of survey questionnaires on sensitive topics target of social desirability before engaging in a high-cost fieldwork and to describe relevant information that can be extracted from the discussions held.
Social implications
Most cross-country surveys on corruption tend to use basic/traditional measures to assess the phenomenon, such as questions on extension, acceptability and/or experience. They take almost for granted that people have the same understanding of this complex construct, which may not hold true, as the focus group discussions illustrate. The three-stage focus group design aims to improve the quality of a survey design regarding people's attitudes, perceptions and experiences of corruption in democracy, by contributing to the development of new questions that tap into the relationship between social condemnation and the individual's socio-economic conditions.
Originality/value
The article provides a low-cost combination of qualitative-oriented (questionnaire development through focus groups) with a quantitative-oriented research tool (mass survey implementation) to meet mixed-method research objectives and enhance the ability to capture several “non-statistical” dimensions of complex social phenomena that are often neglected when a single-methodology approach is used.
... We argue that while interactions are key for understanding the cost of corruption in local governments, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Studying corruption in local governments may help identify key mechanisms at play in corruption processes that might be overlooked by country-level analyses, allow for the development of theoretical perspectives needed to understand corruption at this level, and inform better ways to tackle it (De Graaf 2007;Jiménez et al. 2014;Masters and Graycar 2016). ...
This article constructs a grounded framework to study how corruption is consolidated in local governments. We focus on the fine‐grained texture of corrupt practices that can only be achieved by looking at rich contextual studies. We argue that neglecting the way corruption becomes the “rule of the game” has led to the creation of anti‐corruption policies that tend to be overly reliant on formal institutions, addressing only dyadic and venal types of corruption, and have therefore proven ineffective. Based on a two‐staged, mixed methods research design—including 50 in‐depth interviews in two Mexican cities and three surveys applied to citizens and public officials—this article's framework focuses on how networks are shaped and organized to perform corrupt practices, and how opacity and weak checks and balances grant them impunity. Results show corrupt schemes to be outstandingly malleable and resilient, able to circumvent formal anti‐corruption strategies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... The framework has been used extensively across the globe in teaching anti-corruption. It has been used to explain different forms and contexts of corruption such as corruption in sport (Masters, 2015), corruption in local government (Masters & Graycar, 2016), in media reporting of corruption (Masters & Graycar, 2015), and in corruption in procurement (Graycar, 2019). ...
This paper explores corruption in global fisheries. While reducing corruption is critical for the effective management of the fisheries sector and the fulfilment of the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs, and SDGs14 and 16 in particular), to do so, it is necessary to first have a systematic and comprehensive understanding of what corruption is and how it is manifested in the sector. There is literature on illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing, but not much on corruption. The paper proposes an analytical framework and applies it with six revelatory cases to improve the conceptual clarity of corruption in fisheries. Specific corruption problems found in licensing, negotiating access agreements, lax enforcement, extortion, political corruption, money laundering and tax manipulation, human trafficking, etc. can therefore be better identified through this analysis, which lays a base for systematic responses to tackling corruption in fisheries and accordingly furthering the sustainable development of the sector.
... Masters and Graycar 2016;Amore and Bennedsen 2013). With only few exceptions, the comparative literature on corruption's association with entrepreneurship has focussed primarily on the country level. ...
Does corruption affect the incentives for potential entrepreneurs to start businesses? The
traditional view holds that entrepreneurship is inhibited. However, a few recent studies indicate the contrary, supporting a ‘grease the wheels’ perspective. In a novel approach to this question, we combine a local government corruption index and individual-level register data on start-ups in a low-corruption setting: Sweden. We disaggregate the analysis to individual entrepreneurs, focus on corruption in local institutions and hypothesize that local corruption deters potential entrepreneurs. Our findings are twofold. First, rejecting the ‘grease the wheels’ hypothesis, local corruption has a local deterring effect on potential entrepreneurs. Second, a minority of entrepreneurs relocate their start-ups from home municipalities to elsewhere. However, contrary to expectations, relocaters could embody ‘non-productive’ or ‘destructive’ entrepreneurship: they migrate from relatively low-corrupt to relatively high-corrupt municipalities. While migrating is uncommon, and the effect is weak, it nonetheless indicates that relocaters are attracted to conditions where rent-seeking opportunities are present.
... The existence of political influence in different forms suggests the existence of dynamic-opportunistic behaviours as discussed by De la Higuera- Molina et al. (2018). Also, Masters and Graycar (2016) claim of the existence of massive corruption in local governments across the world appears to have been technically substantiated in this study. This is evident in the high scores of the varieties of interests and bribery and corruption as hindering factors. ...
Empirical evidence of compliance or otherwise with procurement laws especially in developing nations is limited despite its importance in ensuring quality project delivery. This research assessed compliance with the procurement law in the local government setting of a developing nation, challenges to compliance and workable solutions. A total of 108 copies of a carefully structured questionnaire were administered to individuals concerned with contract administration in the local governments in the study area and 87 were considered good enough for analysis. Data analysis was done using cross tabulation, chi-square, mean score and percentile. Among other findings, the study revealed that there is partial compliance with the procurement clauses in the local governments. The study also revealed that significant relationship exists between knowledge of the Procurement Act, owning a copy of the act and compliance with the act. These findings of this study will be useful for construction and public procurement administrators as an evidence of the need for a multifaceted action towards strengthening compliance.
... Yet, corruption permissiveness by African citizens is lower than in many other regions (Moreno, 2002). Moreover, corrupt practices in DCs can vary according to the effectiveness of enforcement of controls and reporting mechanisms, and the level of coordination between civil servants at different levels of central or local governments (Masters and Graycar, 2015). Hence, a universal depiction of official relations as privatized or driven by patronage or nepotism does not invariably reflect African realities. ...
This study analyses an implementation of a government accounting reform in Benin directed at redressing fraudulent and corrupt practices. Whilst reforms to improve public administration and to mitigate corruption in Africa often have disappointing outcomes, our case study involving systems for payment of supplier invoices, payroll matters and debt certificates, had encouraging findings. The systems reduced inefficiencies and corrupt practices. An ‘enabling environment’ (its main elements being emancipatory space, empowered participation and ethical leadership) encouraged the deeper involvement of committed, expert and ethical local civil servants in establishing effective financial controls. In the context of anti-corruption reforms, this illustrates that public sector organisations in Africa should not invariably be regarded as monolithic bureaucratic top-down entities, staffed by civil servants who are either passive ‘bystanders’, purely self-interested ‘players’, or insufficiently expert, and hence in need for more training, and of imported, expensive, accounting systems implemented by foreign consultants. In contrast, the paper argues that, within a suitable environment, granting indigenous experts enough latitude to enact incremental yet substantive accounting changes at the local level may be more effective.
... The ambition to move beyond cross-national comparisons and highlight nontrivial within-country differences regarding violations of the norm of impartiality is a most welcome initiative. This literature is clearly relevant for, and has the potential to theoretically inform, many of the recent interesting studies on corruption and trust in local government in low-corrupt countries (see, for instance, Bergh, Fink, & Öhrvall, 2017;Masters & Graycar, 2016;Kristinsson, 2015;Wallman Lundåsen & Wollebaek, 2013;Dahlström & Sundell, 2013;Jiménez, 2009;Erlingsson, Bergh, & Sjölin, 2009;Lidström, 2008). That said, to be able to make the claim that impartiality of subnational institutions is responsible for variations in social trust among citizens, empirical analyses need to be more sensitive to varying constitutional designs of the countries that are analyzed, so that relevant institutions are matched with the level of analysis where data are collected. ...
The lion's share of comparative research on corruption, good governance, and quality of government (QoG) has been cross‐country. However, a growing body of literature has begun to explore within‐country variations observed at the subnational level regarding corruption and social trust. The existence of such variations implies that state‐level institutions are not capable of telling the entire story and that quality of subnational‐level institutions might be important determinants of within‐country variations regarding, for instance, trust. This article delves into the Swedish case, an egalitarian country that scores high in international indices on lack of corruption and social trust; hence, a “least likely case” of subnational variations in both QoG and trust. Combining two unique data sets, we find variations in both municipal QoG and social trust. In line with theory, we find that “local QoG” is associated with individual levels of community trust. This finding—in a low‐corrupt, high‐trust egalitarian society—strengthens the universality of the QoG‐perspective.
... Na Tanzânia, foi criada a Commission on the Causes of Corruption, uma agência que realiza diversos estudos no sentido de se identificar as prováveis causas da corrupção. Na Austrália, foi criada a Government Investigations and Compliance, que opera na forma de um watchdog em nível local (Fjeldstad, 2003;Masters & Graycar, 2016). No caso da China, especificamente em Hong Kong, foi criada a Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC), à qual a literatura do país credita considerável sucesso no controle da corrupção (Gong, Wang, & Ren, 2015;Doig, Watt, & Williams, 2006). ...
A corrupção no setor público está presente em todos os países do mundo, desde os países desenvolvidos até os mais pobres. Entender como esse fenômeno ocorre em diferentes países é fundamental para o surgimento de mecanismos efetivos de combate à corrupção e o fortalecimento da democracia. Nesse sentido, este estudo buscou responder a seguinte questão: Como o tema da corrupção na Administração Pública vem sendo debatido na literatura internacional? Para isso utilizou-se análise de conteúdo e revisão sistemática da literatura. Ao todo foram analisadas 211 produções internacionais entre artigos teóricos e empíricos que tratam da corrupção em 141 países do mundo. Os resultados apontam para um campo de estudo em crescimento, com uma diversidade de métodos e técnicas de pesquisa divididos entre estudos qualitativos e quantitativos. Os temas em destaque são as reformas contra a corrupção no mundo, as causas e consequências da corrupção e as formas de medir a corrupção. Ao final do artigo é oferecida uma agenda para estudos futuros em relação ao tema.
... There is good reason to believe that many known cases are not prosecuted based on resources and likelihood of prosecution success. In some cases, less serious corrupt conduct is ignored or handled outside the criminal process through demotions, firings, or civil compensation of illicit gains (Lord, 2013;Masters & Graycar, 2016). Therefore, this study focuses only on the most serious cases, found worthy of criminal prosecution, knowing that many other instances of corruption occur that are not selected for prosecution. ...
Albanese, Jay S. and Artello, K. (2019). The Behavior of Corruption: An Empirical Typology of Public Corruption by Objective & Method. Journal of Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society, vol. 20, 1-12. -
The United States Supreme Court has ruled that corruption requires misconduct beyond favors received for actions typical of a public official's position, such as favors like hosting an event or contacting an official on behalf of another. This holding makes it unclear the degree to which the use of an official office for personal advantage, or that of another, can be considered corruption. It reflects vagueness in defining specific prohibited behaviors that constitute public corruption. Understanding the underlying behaviors of public corruption activities is an important step for effective detection and prevention. Thus, the question becomes which types of exchanges, favors, acts, or omissions constitute corruption, and which do not? An analysis of more than 300 public corruption convictions occurring over a three-year period was conducted to develop a typology of categories of corruption behaviors. It is discovered that eight distinct types of corrupt conduct exist, pursuing two broad illicit objectives. Therefore, despite the multiplicity of charges brought in corruption cases, there exist a limited number of behaviors that underlie this conduct. These findings are compared with the previous literature on corruption. The utility of the typology for understanding the underlying behavioral aspects of corruption and its context are explained with implications for reducing its occurrence.
... Na Tanzânia, foi criada a Commission on the Causes of Corruption, uma agência que realiza diversos estudos no sentido de se identificar as prováveis causas da corrupção. Na Austrália, foi criada a Government Investigations and Compliance, que opera na forma de um watchdog em nível local (Fjeldstad, 2003;Masters & Graycar, 2016). No caso da China, especificamente em Hong Kong, foi criada a Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC), cuja literatura credita considerável sucesso no controle da corrupção (Gong, Wang, & Ren, 2015;Doig, Watt, & Williams, 2006). ...
A corrupção no setor público está presente em todos os países do mundo, desde os países desenvolvidos até os mais pobres. Entender como esse fenômeno ocorre em diferentes países é fundamental para o surgimento de mecanismos efetivos de combate à corrupção e o fortalecimento da democracia. Nesse sentido, este estudo buscou responder a seguinte questão: Como o tema da corrupção na Administração Pública vem sendo debatido na literatura internacional? Para isso utilizou-se análise de conteúdo e revisão sistemática da literatura. Ao todo foram analisadas 211 produções internacionais entre artigos teóricos e empíricos que tratam da corrupção em 141 países do mundo. Os resultados apontam para um campo de estudo em crescimento, com uma diversidade de métodos e técnicas de pesquisa divididos entre estudos qualitativos e quantitativos. Os temas em destaque são as reformas contra a corrupção no mundo, as causas e consequências da corrupção e as formas de medir a corrupção. Ao final do artigo é oferecida uma agenda para estudos futuros em relação ao tema.
... The importance of control and auditing are also emphasized by the study by Navot (2016) and by Beeri and Navot (2013) in a case study from Israel. Olken (2007) examines this problem using a case study from Indonesia, and the experience in Australia is handled by Masters and Graycar (2016) and Islam (2014). The Spanish experience was analyzed by Qusada et al. (2013) and Jimenez et al. (2012), while the aggregate experiences of different countries in the fight against corruption in local governments has been discussed by Benito et al. (2015). ...
The article focuses on risk assessment of individual and systematic corruption at the municipal level in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. For this purpose, it uses the method of Corruption Risk FMEA, which is based on the classic Fault Mode and Effect Analysis used mainly in production. The model views corruption as an individual action, the application of which revealed significant differences in corruption risk which were detrimental in Bulgaria. The causes of these differences can be seen in the normative attitude of the public towards corruption, the insufficient involvement of the general public, and also the lack in range of controls. Improving the current situation can be achieved in two ways. The “low road” means increasing controls, for example, audits (in particular) and performance benchmarking, and applying them at the appropriate time. The “high road” means utilizing soft instruments and a change in the normative approach of the public towards corruption.
... What Ray Fisman and Miriam Goldman have done is narrow the topic effectively to an approach from the perspective of political economy, which seems entirely appropriate as Golden is a political scientist and Fisman a behavioural economist. I have argued elsewhere (Masters, 2015(Masters, , 2018Masters & Graycar, 2016) that corruption is so broad in scope, it requires a descriptor to allow analytical utility. The authors only narrow corruption to political corruption occasionally (e.g. ...
... Furthermore, crime prevention is aimed at controlling a deviant group and their behavior recognised and visible by all, whereas corruption prevention is aimed at controlling a hidden group, which in the low corruption environment of rich countries is significantly smaller than in the higher corruption environment of poor countries. In wealthy countries, the overwhelming majority of public officials, civil society volunteers and private corporations delivering public goods do the right thingthey are neither criminal, nor corrupt (Graycar 2015;Masters and Graycar 2016;McAllister et al. 2012). This paper focuses on public sector corruption in rich countries and develops prevention techniques and appropriate language to deal with it as a phenomenon distinct from crime. ...
Purpose
Corruption undermines good governance. Strategies for preventing malfeasance in low corruption environments require a different approach to that applied in high corruption environments. The paper asks if criminological theories and practice contribute to the study and prevention of corruption in public organizations? Do crime prevention techniques help us in preventing corruption?
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical data demonstrates the overwhelming majority of public officials in rich countries demonstrate high levels of integrity, yet significant sums are invested in anti-corruption agencies and prevention strategies. This paper reports on recent work with an anti-corruption agency, which forced us to re-think how to deliver an anti-corruption agenda in a low corruption environment. We build on our research of public sector corruption in rich countries to develop a set of 20 situational corruption prevention measures for public administrators.
Findings
The result, with lessons from crime prevention, is a prevention tool to support continued good governance in low corruption environments. Figure 1 is a template which readers can apply in their own environments. Figure 2 is our attempt to populate this template based on the research reported here.
Originality/value
The matrix of situational corruption prevention techniques provides two original approaches. First, it recasts the language of crime prevention into a non-confrontational approach to avoid alienating honest public officials. Secondly, the matrix incorporates common public sector functions to guide the development of context specific corruption prevention techniques.
Over the past years, the anti-corruption strategy in public administrations has been shifting from a formal way of control towards a risk management and assessment one. However, it is not clear whether these legal reforms at EU and at national level are reaching local institutions. The study evaluates the degree of compliance of the Greater Metropolitan Area of Barcelona by analysing a set of indicators divided into five main areas: codes of ethics, oversight bodies, transparency, conflicts of interests, and whistleblowing channels and protection. The results show that, even if there are also positive outcomes, the process of transforming the public administration and its contracting bodies towards a culture of integrity or risk management is still far from complete at local levels, and there are still institutional and normative shortcomings in terms of anti-corruption strategy and planning that should be promptly addressed.
Points for practitioners
This article explores the impact of the current anti-corruption legislation on local governments and public bodies. It analyses the state of development of four key public procurement areas of action within the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, gathering 170 entities of different legal nature and size. The results show that the impact of European and national legislations seems to be still weak in local administrative structures, although the degree of development varies significantly among different types of entities.
Kecenderungan korupsi yang menjerat Kepala Daerah dan Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah (DPRD)—yang merupakan unsur Pemerintahan Daerah—mengisyaratkan persoalan korupsi di daerah dengan berbagai pola. Penyalahgunaan Anggaran Pendapatan Belanja Daerah (APBD), perizinan, infrastruktur, pengadaan barang dan jasa, promosi dan mutasi pejabat daerah, pengelolaan aset daerah merupakan beberapa pola persoalan yang menghambat pemberian pelayanan publik kepada konstituen di daerah. Berdasarkan data yang dihimpun dari Mahkamah Agung, jumlah terdakwa korupsi Kepala Daerah Kabupaten/ Kota menurut status Putusan pada tahun 2001 sampai dengan tahun 2017 sebanyak 106 (seratus enam) terdakwa Kepala Daerah di tingkat Kabupaten/Kota yang terlibat dalam kasus tindak pidana korupsi dan pencucian uang (money laundering).
Putusan pengadilan yang telah berkekuatan hukum tetap (inkracht) menjadi salah satu sumber referensi untuk melihat berbagai pola korupsi pemerintahan daerah, disamping hasil penelitian lapangan yang dilakukan oleh peneliti pada beberapa daerah di Jawa Timur. Buku ini terdiri atas lima bab yang mencakup: (1) Permasalahan Korupsi pada Pemerintahan Daerah di Indonesia; (2) Tinjauan Pustaka; (3) Pola Korupsi Pemerintahan Daerah di Indonesia; (4) Analisis Aktor dan Pola Korupsi Pemerintahan Daerah serta Hubungan dengan Pelayanan Publik; (5) Rekomendasi dan Arah Kebijakan Penyelesaian Permasalahan Korupsi pada Pemerintahan Daerah di Indonesia.
Selain itu juga buku ini merupakan hasil penelitian dari penulis saat melakukan studi lapangan di Jawa Timur. Dimana penulis berkesempatan untuk melakukan wawancara dengan para pejabat daerah, akademisi dan aktivis Non Governmet Organisation (NGO) di Jombang, Surabaya dan Mojokerto.
Tim peneliti berharap agar buku ini dapat memberikan masukan berharga dalam memperkaya literatur akademik terkait studi mengenai korupsi terutama di Pemerintahan Daerah di Indonesia. Di samping itu, buku ini diharapkan dapat memberikan alternatif rekomendasi kebijakan untuk memperkuat penegakan hukum dan kebijakan publik dalam pemberantasan korupsi di Indonesia. Kami berharap buku ini dapat digunakan sebagai referensi berharga bagi para dosen, mahasiswa, aktivis anti korupsi, birokrat, guru, wiraswasta dan terutama para pejabat negara. Diharapkan dengan membaca referensi ini, mereka tidak terkena musibah terlibat dalam kasus korupsi, mengingat kerugian yang begitu besar ditimbulkan terutama kepada masyarakat miskin dan lemah.
This study aims to determine the organizational communication of the Dasok Village Head in East Java regarding the management of the Village Fund. This research method uses a case study with a qualitative approach. Data collection techniques were carried out through in-depth interviews, observations, and literature studies. The results showed that the Dasok Village Head violated the authority given by the state by not involving the Village Consultative Body (BPD) as a representation of the community, thus causing the Village Fund to be prone to corruption. The communication carried out by the Village Head takes place in a linear (one-way) manner. On that basis, the government should encourage village heads to build intensive communication and dialogue with the BPD and village communities. As a solution to minimize cases of corruption in the Village Fund, the application of local wisdom values and a cultural value system is a necessity that is carried out by the government so that the objectives of the Undang-Undang Desa No. 6 Tahun 2014 namely villages to become advanced, independent, democratic, and have prosperous citizens can be achieved.
Keywords: Corruption, local wisdom, organizational communications, village fund
ABSTRAK
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui komunikasi organisasi Kepala Desa Dasok Jawa Timur terkait pengelolaan Dana Desa. Metode penelitian ini menggunakan studi kasus dengan pendekatan kualitatif. Teknik pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui wawancara mendalam, observasi dan studi pustaka. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan Kepala Desa Dasok menyalahi kewenangan yang diberikan negara dengan tidak melibatkan Badan Permusyawaratan Desa (BPD) sebagai representasi masyarakat, sehingga menyebabkan Dana Desa rawan korupsi. Komunikasi yang dilakukan Kepala Desa berlangsung secara linier (satu arah). Atas dasar itu, pemerintah harus lebih mendorong kepala desa untuk membangun komunikasi dan dialog intensif dengan BPD maupun masyarakat desa. Sebagai solusi menimalisasi kasus-kasus korupsi Dana Desa, penerapan nilai-nilai kearifan lokal dan sistem nilai budaya menjadi suatu keniscayaan yang dilakukan pemerintah agar tujuan Undang-Undang Desa No. 6 Tahun 2014 yakni desa menjadi maju, mandiri, demokratis, dan warganya sejahtera dapat tercapai.
Kata Kunci: Dana desa, kearifan lokal, komunikasi organisasi, korupsi
The study of the forces that lead citizens and public officials to tolerate corruption has attracted scholarly attention for decades. We seek to contribute to this literature by arguing that -since corruption is an interpersonal process- public officials’ perceptions of and dispositions toward it are influenced by how it is framed. To test this claim, we conduct an original experiment on a representative sample of civil servants working in a large urban municipal government in Mexico. We find that, even when evaluating clear examples of corruption, public officials are more likely to tolerate the illegal disregard for the bureaucratic procedure when it is framed not as a monetary exchange but as a way in which resources can be redistributed, institutions can be made more flexible, and organizations can be made more efficacious.
The transparency of local government decision-making commonly depends on the discovery and use of information by a wide range of participants acting within the surrounding local integrity system. The roles of external organizations (including the media, academics, and non-government institutions) in using information to perform oversight roles is an important characteristic of local integrity systems. However, even in a relative deluge of document-based local government information, pernicious forms of unethical decision-making can evade immediate detection, hidden in plain view within archives of pages which are too expansive to be manually scrutinized. Responding to numerous examples of failed internal governance in local governments in Australia, we profile the experimental development of a prototype system intended to systematically extract information from meeting minutes. We identify how elementary differences in document expression constrains many innovative uses of these records to support the identification of potentially unethical decision-making. Drawing together the integrity systems and information accessibility literature, we conclude that improved integration of information standards in local government documents holds immense potential in expanding how local integrity systems act to foster ethical decision-making among elected local government officials.
Much of the literature on quality of democracy is case study-oriented and focused on nation states. Theoretical work and, in particular, comparative empirical research on the quality of local democracy are less advanced. This paper contributes to our understanding of how democracy works from below. It develops a conceptual framing and employs a multidimensional index of the quality of democracy across all 278 municipalities in mainland Portugal by focusing on procedural dimensions of democratic performance at three levels of legitimacy: input, throughput, and output. Regression analysis is then used as a preliminary test of the usefulness of these measures of quality of local democracy and to uncover associations between them and a range of political and socioeconomic factors. The results suggest that municipalities led by independent mayors, with larger populations and higher levels of multiculturalism are likelier to be associated with ‘better’ local democracy.
Na Inštitutu za varstvoslovje Fakultete za varnostne vede Univerze v Mariboru smo
leta 2015 začeli z raziskavo o varnosti v lokalnih skupnostih v Sloveniji, ki smo jo
zaključili 2018. Agencija za raziskovanje Republike Slovenije je leta 2019 podaljšala
pogodbo programske skupine do leta 2024 (št. programa P5-0397, Varnost v
lokalnih skupnostih – primerjava ruralnih in urbanih okolij). Po lanski četrti
Nacionalni konferenci o varnosti v lokalnih skupnostih v Slovenski Bistrici letošnjo
konferenco organiziramo skupaj z Policijsko upravo Nova Gorica in Mestno občino
Nova Gorica. V letu 2019 smo izvajali preglede literature s področja urbane in
ruralne varnosti, analizirali statistične podatke o kriminaliteti v urbanih in ruralnih
okoljih v Sloveniji ter začeli s pripravo mednarodne bienalne konference Criminal
Justice and Security 2020. Na osnovi baze zbranih podatkov iz prvega obdobja
programske skupine smo napisali prispevke za tematsko številko Revije za
kriminalistiko in kriminologijo v angleškem jeziku, ki bo predvidoma izšla konec
2019.
Poleg dejavnega raziskovalnega dela, ki ga je pri zbiranju podatkov v letu 2017
označevalo odlično sodelovanje prebivalcev Slovenije (1.266), policistov (519) in
drugih sodelujočih v raziskovanju od začetka projekta ter soorganizatorjev
konferenc (Mestna občina Ljubljana, Mestna občina Murska Sobota, Mestna občina
Novo mesto, Občina Slovenska Bistrica, Generalna policijska uprava in vodstva
policijskih uprav), smo razprave in ugotovitve o varnosti v lokalnih skupnostih širili
tudi preko meja Slovenije s prispevki na mednarodnih konferencah Evropskega
kriminološkega združenja, Ameriškega kriminološkega združenja in konferencah v
jugovzhodni Evropi ter Rusiji. Rezultate raziskovanja in širjenje spoznanja smo
predstavili na Dnevih varstvoslovja s prispevki in organizacijo okroglih miz, leta
2019 pa smo organizirali okroglo mizo o policijski dejavnosti v ruralnih okoljih.
Vsebine programske skupine smo vključili tudi v teme bienalne mednarodne
konference Criminal Justice in Central and Eastern Europe, ki jo od leta 1996 dalje
organizira Fakulteta za varnostne vede. Vodilna tema konference leta 2016 je bila
varnost in družbeno nadzorstvo v lokalnih skupnostih, na konferenci leta 2018 pa
smo se ukvarjali z dokazi (predvsem znanstvenimi) podprtim oblikovanjem
varnostnih in kriminalitetnih politik. Leta 2020 načrtujemo mednarodno konferenco
o varnosti v ruralnih okoljih, kjer se bomo srečali z vodilnimi svetovnimi,
regionalnimi in nacionalnimi strokovnjaki s tega področja. Letošnja nacionalna
konferenca v Novi Gorici bo namenjena obravnavi tem s področja varnosti v severni
Primorski, predstavljene bodo tudi analize podatkov iz leta 2017, kjer sta v ospredju
dihotomija med urbano in ruralno varnostjo. Nekaj prispevkov izvira tudi iz
raziskovalnega dela v drugih projektih Fakultete za varnostne vede.
Za sodelovanje v času dosedanjega dela programske skupine Varnost v lokalnih
skupnostih se zahvaljujemo predstavnikom slovenskih občin, še posebej Mestni
občini Ljubljana, Mestni občini Murska Sobota, Mestni občini Novo mesto, Občini
Slovenska Bistrica in Mestni občini Nova Gorica za pomoč pri organizaciji
nacionalnih konferenc, vodstvu slovenske policije in vodstvom policijskih uprav
Ljubljana, Murska Sobota, Novo mesto, Maribor in Nova Gorica. Zahvaljujemo se
vsem praktikom, ki so sodelovali z nami in predstavili prispevke na nacionalnih
konferencah. Posebna zahvala gre recenzentoma preteklih in pričujočega zbornika,
zasl. prof. dr. Darku Mavru in izr. prof. dr. Zoranu Kanduču. Zahvala gre tudi osebju
Oddelka za raziskovalno in umetniško dejavnost Univerze v Mariboru in strokovnim
sodelavcem Javne agencije za raziskovalno dejavnost Republike Slovenije, ki so bili
vedno na voljo za odgovore na vprašanja glede vodenja in administriranja
programske skupine. Uredniki zbornika se na koncu zahvaljujemo tudi članicam in
članom programske skupine in drugim avtorjem, ki so skupaj z nami iskali odgovore
na kompleksna vprašanja o varnostnih problemih in zagotavljanju varnosti. Pričujoči
zbornik vsebuje 12 prispevkov, ki jih je napisalo 17 avtorjev, ki obravnavajo teme s
področij sodelovanja policije in lokalne skupnosti pri zagotavljanju varnosti, pravnih
temeljev zagotavljanja temeljne pravice do varnosti, zaznavanja varnostnih pojavov
v urbanih in ruralnih lokalnih skupnostih, kriminalitete v slovenskih občinah,
samovarovanja prebivalcev Slovenije, dejavnikov, povezanimi z občutkom
(ne)varnosti, primerjave med zaznavo varnosti med slovenskimi regijami, pojavnih
oblik kriminalitete in posebnostih policijskega dela v ruralnih predelih Pomurja,
korupcije v ruralnih okoljih, varnosti uporabnikov kibernetskega prostora in
pogojenosti varnosti v kibernetskem prostoru z realnim okoljem.
The Bulgarian structural organization of decentralization level has specific impact on the social health care system competitiveness. The basic task of the present research is to investigate the impact of the determinants - subunit interdependence and knowledge transfer costs, on the level of decentralization and PMSs using as examples subdivisional units from the Bulgarian social health care level of decentralization. There are suggested three hypotheses about the influence of the investigated factors. There is carried out a theoretical suggestion how to conduct an empirically investigation and as conclusions how to review the summarized statistics research variables.
Many pesticides are not biodegradable and due to bioaccumulation, can enter into food chain and ultimately affect human and animal health. Environmental exposure of humans to pesticides through ecosystems may occur during agricultural practices, consumption of food materials or air inhalation etc. Adverse health effects include acute and persistent injury to the nervous system, lung damage, injury to reproductive organs, and dysfunction of the immune and endocrine systems, birth defects and cancer. A better understanding of the patterns of exposure, the links between the animal toxicology and human health effects will improve the evaluation of the risks posed by pesticides to the ecosystem.
Corruption is perceived to exist in local government in Australia.
Purpose: Corruption is a wicked issue, which affects public sector organizations across the World. Even though research in this field is blooming, little is known about the strategies that could be implemented to prevent and/or fight the occurrence of public corruption.
Design/Methodology/Approach: Using a longitudinal approach, this paper points out some evidence on the perceived effectiveness of different public governance initiatives in reducing the risks of public corruption in Europe. In particular, 31 Western European countries were involved in this analysis. The research covered a 7 years’ time span, ranging from January, 2010 to December, 2016.
Findings: Rule of law was found to be an important ingredient of the recipe for successful anti-corruption policies. Surprisingly, political stability turned out to entail greater incentives to public corruption. While voice and accountability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, and control of corruption were correlates of perceived anti-corruption performance, they were not found to act as relevant regressors in the panel model.
Research limitations: The generalizability of the research results is limited by the geographical boundaries of this study; besides, there is the risk that the study results were affected by the consequences of the recent financial turbulences concerning Western European Countries.
Research implications: Rule of law is momentous to realize the full potential of anti-corruption policies: in fact, it contributes in reducing the incentives to improperly use public assets, enhancing the proper functioning of public sector organizations. Alternatively, political stability may induce public officials and citizens to collude in order to capture public resources.
Originality/value: This paper contributes in shedding light on the perceived effectiveness of anti-corruption initiatives, paving the way for further conceptual and practical developments.
Corruption is perceived to exist in local government in Australia. This article explores the disparity between reports of perceived corruption by the public and reports by councils. It notes that perceived corruption in local government is not always recognized by local government officials; when it is, it is often not reported, or if it is reported, it does not receive an adequate response. Research undertaken with 251 employees in 10 Australian Councils raises issues of whether the corruption is systemic, or a set of isolated transgressions. If transgressions are not addressed, they risk becoming normalized, resulting in systemic corruption, and an ethical demise—a death by a thousand cuts.
Résumé
Ce texte présente les résultats d'une analyse thématique faite à partir des matériaux obtenus lors d'une recherche empirique exploratoire portant sur les risques éthiques dans le domaine municipal. Pour ce faire, nous avons réalisé un diagnostic des risques éthiques dans une municipalité canadienne ayant connu une crise importante au niveau de l'intégrité. La recherche empirique s'est faite de novembre 2015 à mars 2016, à partir d'entrevues semi-dirigées avec des acteurs dits stratégiques et des groupes de discussion avec des acteurs dits opérationnels.
Notre recherche s'inscrit dans l'esprit d'un « retour d'expérience » (Wybo et Wassenhove, 2009). Ainsi, l'objectif de ce type recherche est de produire, via un travail de réflexivité collective, un bassin de connaissances pratiques pouvant permettre de mieux comprendre les risques éthiques présents dans un environnement particulier et de cibler les stratégies d'atténuation de ces risques.
Pour faire notre analyse, nous avons croisé les résultats de notre enquête sur deux axes d'analyse : l'analyse des risques sous l'angle des trois indicateurs de notre cadre (conduites à risque, facteurs de risque et stratégies d'atténuation) et l'analyse transactionnelle par les parties prenantes. Nous présenterons les résultats de façon synthétique afin de faire ressortir la transversalité des données et leur rattachement à des situations transactionnelles particulières. Dans la section discussion, nous mettrons l'accent sur les stratégies d'atténuation des risques éthiques proposées par nos répondants afin de faire ressortir la grande différence de ces résultats par opposition aux propositions traditionnelles des experts institutionnels qui se sont penchés sur l’éthique du service public.
This analysis examines the precise laws under which corruption cases are brought and trends over time in order to assess how the underlying corruption behaviors can be grouped into types. Corruption is operationalized into several distinct types of misconduct under law for purposes of prosecution. Federal defendants were most often charged with offenses charging bribery, fraudulent statements/entries, theft of public funds, conspiracy, and fraudulent claims (in that order). Whereas state and local defendants were more likely to be charged with a different ordering of offenses (extortion, theft from government programs, mail fraud, and conspiracy for state defendants, and theft from government programs, extortion, mail fraud, and bribery for local defendants). These differences in the corruption choices by public officials at different levels of government have rarely been considered. Preliminary explanations are offered for these differences, which provide insights into the way in which corruption occurs in different jurisdictions.
This article reexamines the ethical responsibility of public administrators by investigating their role in policy process as perceived by legislators. The current dilemma for public administrators is how to pursue the public good in Madison’s model of checks and balances. California legislators in the 2014 session were surveyed regarding four policy scenarios and their perceptions of the administrator’s role in policymaking. Their responses are used to explore how legislators’ perceptions of the administrator redefine the administrator’s ethical environment. Factional factors (e.g., party divisions) may serve as an invitation for administrative input in the legislative policy process.
Purpose
– Corruption is a significant financial crime which is estimated by the World Economic Forum to cost about 5 per cent of global GDP or $2.6 trillion dollars. Explanations of corruption, like explanations of crime, tend to focus on the individuals who commit corruption and the wider conditions which give rise to corrupt behaviour. Approaches designed to reduce corruption usually propose stiffer sanctions, institutional reforms and the passing of new laws. The purpose of this paper is to outline a complementary perspective with which to consider corruption.
Design/methodology/approach
– Grounded in situational crime prevention and related criminological theory, the paper argues that opportunities in the immediate environment play a causal role in generating corruption. It proposes that corruption can be minimised by removing or reducing opportunities which are conducive to corrupt behaviour. In total, five cases are chosen as illustrative examples of how situational crime prevention might usefully be applied to corruption, focussing on the Type, Activities, Sectors and Places (TASP) that comprise corruption events.
Findings
– A framework is developed for the empirical study of corruption in local settings.
Originality/value
– The paper explores how situational crime prevention can usefully inform the analysis and prevention of corruption.
A local integrity system (LIS) consists of all the policies, practices and integrity institutions that are meant to contribute to the integrity of local government. Little research has been carried out on such systems, compared to national integrity systems, even though the performance of a municipality in terms of good governance is important to how citizens perceive government more generally. The proposed framework has been developed inductively from a study of seven cities around the world. It may be used in research and policy evaluation. The article concludes with an agenda for further research, theory and policy development.
Concern for fostering trust in public institutions has prompted many governments to invest in systems of ethics regulation, embracing various dimensions of good governance. This article assesses the impact of ethics regulation on the conduct of English local politicians using Foucauldian perspectives on government, power, and resistance. The research finds that ethics regulation encountered problems when politicians resisted the models of political identity and behavior that it was perceived to promote. Particular concentrations of misconduct complaints were identified in which politicians believed that changes to political management structures, designed to make local governance more effective, caused a loss of voice for elected representatives. Ethics regulation itself sometimes served as a device for controlling others and effecting resistance. The article concludes with reflections on how far we should expect political conduct to be managed by such regulatory practices.
In the 1990s, several public corruption scandals were uncovered in Sweden. This article focuses specifically on local corruption, and our purpose is to examine whether a case can be made that problems of public corruption in Swedish municipalities have increased. By applying instruments from the institutional rational choice framework, we reach the conclusion that there are indeed reasons to suspect that retrenchment initiatives and organisational reforms over the last two decades, often labelled ‘new public management’, have increased the risk of corruption. Although hard empirical data do not yet exist, the suspicion that public corruption in Swedish municipalities may have become an increasing problem cannot be disregarded. Hence, we conclude by calling for further empirical research in this field.
The literature available about social definitions of corruption is surprisingly discrete from that which addresses the issue of whistleblowing or the reporting of crime and corruption. The current study, however, empirically links the two. A survey of more than 1300 public sector employees was undertaken to explore: i) how and why public sector employees define some behaviours as corrupt; ii) factors which may hinder public sector employees taking action about corruption which they may observe at work; and iii) the link between i) and ii). The study found that within the New South Wales (NSW) public sector, views about what constitutes corruption are diverse and that this has a significant, though not exclusive, impact upon the action respondents said they would take in response to workplace corruption. The study discusses other factors which also impact upon the stated decision not to take action about corruption and suggests some possible courses of action for addressing these factors.
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Corruption hurts the public and undermines government. This study of perceptions of corruption in Victoria shows that the community believes corruption is on the increase, yet this view is not shared by public servants. In general corruption is not on the radar of senior Victorian public servants. There are more perceptions of corruption in line agencies than in central agencies. Behaviours most commonly suspected and observed were hiring family and friends, conflict of interest, abuse of discretion and abuse of information. One- third of public servants surveyed thought there were opportunities for bribery, yet only 4% had suspected bribery and less than one per cent had personally observed it. Almost half do not believe they would be protected from victimisation should they report corruption. The data reported here poses challenges in thinking about corruption when devising integrity standards in the public service.
Despite growing preoccupation on the part of both the public and researchers with the concept of political corruption and the ‘corruption eruption’ phenomenon, research studies addressing corruption in local government are few and far between. This exploratory research offers a theoretical conceptualization of institutionalized corruption in local government, and identifies structural factors that lead to such corruption. Further, this study empirically assesses institutional corruption at the local level and its correlation to attitudes and characteristics of local authorities and their populations, based on a survey of 1,709 residents of 156 local authorities in Israel and data on the local authorities from a separate database. This article proposes a model according to which local corruption arises from structural factors at three levels: the central–local level (relations between local authorities and the central government); the local–local level (competition between local authorities) and the intra-local level (factors relating to the performance of local councils and local democracy). Our analyses reveal correlations among characteristics of the local authority and community, residents' perceptions of local performance and perceptions of local corruption. Implications of the findings in light of strategies conventionally employed against corruption in local government are discussed.
Corruption is inimical to public support for democratic government. This article uses Australian public opinion surveys to clarify the link between corruption and views of political institutions. The results show that citizens' personal experiences of corruption among public officials are negligible, but that three in four believe that there is some corruption among politicians and almost half believe that corruption in Australia is increasing. Perceptions of corruption matter much more than personal experiences of corrupt public officials in shaping confidence in political institutions. For policy-makers, the findings have implications for how corruption is handled, and in the measures that should be put in place to allay the public's fears about the increase in corruption.
This article examines how, against a background of localism endorsed by the 2010 coalition government in the United Kingdom, a key component of local integrity and governance was fundamentally altered. The Localism Act 2011 abolished the English local integrity framework, which relied on the participation of local citizens in the policy making and implementation of local government standards of conduct. The article utilizes Henrik Bang's concepts of “expert citizen” and “everyday maker” to explore citizen participation in local standards committees. Using a case study approach, the article demonstrates how standards committees shaped processes and practices in the local governance of integrity. The authors argue that standards committees were crucial in promoting local participation and enhancing good governance.
This article understands integrity in public administration as a metaphor for the crafting of accountable, transparent, competent and responsive public administration underpinned by the concept of public value. It further argues that the design of effective integrity agencies requires a broad understanding of the obstacles to the achievement of integrity in public administration, the options for integrity reform and the appropriate strategic framework for implementing them. It concludes that integrity in public administration provides a methodology for achieving ‘good enough’ governance – a relative, evolving and culturally defined aspiration – otherwise known in mature democracies as representative, responsible and accountable government. It observes, however, that the achievement of integrity in public administration is as much a behavioural challenge as a problem of institutional design. Over the past two decades there has been a fascination with responding to integrity problems either through structural reform and the proliferation of integrity policy and processes to reinforce workplace integrity or by creating new institutions. These are often layered over existing institutions without due reflection on roles and responsibilities creating a crowded and inefficient policy and operational environment. Public organisations consequently spend a great deal of time, energy and resources on meeting compliance obligations rather than embedding integrity values in the hearts and minds of public servants. The removal of this integrity paradox remains the central challenge for integrity reform in Australia and has strong cadences in other Westminster style democracies.
This paper reviews developments in police oversight in the last decade in Australia's eight jurisdictions. Significant variation remains in the structure and responsibilities of oversight agencies, but there has been an ongoing trend towards replacing an ombudsman model with a public sector-wide commission model. There has also been a general convergence in terms of increased powers and an enlarged range of anti-corruption tactics. Change has been driven by ongoing revelations of misconduct or concerns about potential misconduct by police, public servants and politicians. Despite improvements it is argued that there is considerable room for better practice, especially in enlarging the scope of independent investigations and adjudication by integrity commissions.
Since the 1990s, recognition has grown that the answer to corruption–political, bureaucratic or corporate–does not lie in a single institution, let alone a single law. Rather the institutionalisation of integrity through a number of agencies, laws, practices and ethical codes is increasingly recognised as the best option for limiting corruption in many societies. This article addresses the key issue of coherence between these various institutions, picking up on the third and final theme of the Australian national integrity system assessment. The assessment has shown, firstly, that concepts of ‘horizontal’ or ‘mutual’ accountability are important but also need to be developed and better contextualised as a framework for designing integrity systems; secondly, that integrity system coherence can be usefully measured and mapped using standard network analysis approaches, helping more clearly identify the need for more deliberate strategies for coordination of integrity policies; and thirdly, that new metaphors can and should be developed for communicating the nature and significance of the institutional interactions that constitute integrity systems. The new metaphor suggested here is that of a bird's nest, in which a multitude of often weak institutions and relationships can combine to more effectively protect and promote the fragile goal of public integrity.
Australia's third sphere of government is local government, consisting of about 675 councils nationally, responsible for an average of 6 percent of total public sector expenditure (around $18 billion) annually. This article reviews key integrity issues confronting local government, based on experience in NSW and Queensland. Current issues confirm integrity to be a significant concern manifesting in a large variety of forms, both in council administration and in local government politics. A new generation of responses are increasingly tailored to recognising local government as a permanent, elected sphere of government, accounting directly to the public, while, supported by state regulators, individual councils also pursue better practice in the management of their own administrations.
This article summaries conclusions from the New South Wales public sector component of the National Integrity System Assessment. The evidence here suggests that the NSW public sector integrity activity is relatively complex and that the existence of multiple integrity agencies has disadvantages for complainants, integrity agencies and agencies under their scrutiny. The coherence of the NSW integrity system must therefore be questioned. The capacity of integrity agencies is hard to determine, with money and staffing levels not in themselves resolving debate over where capacity ought to be directed. The evidence suggests that the long-running debate between those who want capacity directed to coercive investigations and those who want it aimed at systemic and cultural change is a false one, with the best strategies coupling the two types of activity. Judgements differ on the consequences of public sector integrity activity. Greater agreement exists that integrity has improved over the last decade or so, but while external integrity oversight appears to be responsible for some of that improvement, activities within public sector agencies appear to have been equally important.
This article is a summary report on the findings of the Commonwealth component of the National Integrity System Assessment (NISA) project. This part of the NISA project commenced in May 2002, although some preliminary work had been done before then. The methodology included interviews and a questionnaire. Representatives from eight agencies with central responsibility for integrity matters, and five lines agencies responsible for the implementation of the integrity policies were interviewed. The questionnaire was circulated to a number of agencies with ten agencies responding. The study was completed in April 2004.
The good governance agenda is unrealistically long and growing longer over time. Among the multitude of governance reforms that “must be done” to encourage development and reduce poverty, there is little guidance about what's essential and what's not, what should come first and what should follow, what can be achieved in the short term and what can only be achieved over the longer term, what is feasible and what is not. If more attention is given to sorting out these questions, “good enough governance” may become a more realistic goal for many countries faced with the goal of reducing poverty. Working toward good enough governance means accepting a more nuanced understanding of the evolution of institutions and government capabilities; being explicit about trade-offs and priorities in a world in which all good things cannot be pursued at once; learning about what's working rather than focusing solely on governance gaps; taking the role of government in poverty alleviation seriously; and grounding action in the contextual realities of each country.
This article examines recent debate over core or 'independent' integrity institutions in the Victorian and Commonwealth governments to highlight some of the need, and potential, for more careful deliberation over options for building the capacity of integrity systems - the second of the analytical themes used in Australia's national assessment. The first part compares resourcing of major integrity institutions by Australian governments over the past 15 years. Staffing and finances are seen as a useful basic measure of capacity, helping lift attention away from the assumption that creation of new bodies necessarily increases capacity. The data also show that some jurisdictions including Victoria may yet have some way to go if they wish to match other governments. The second part of the analysis identifies eight further issues for consideration in deliberations on institutional design. Our conclusion is that by working through such issues more systematically, it may be possible to identify new or different institutional options for configuring integrity resources. This could help avoid inappropriate choices whether unnecessary new bodies, overloads on existing ones or the import of frameworks that do not necessarily 'fit' local conditions of particular relevance to current proposals for a new Commonwealth anti-corruption agency. Yes Yes
The Global anticorruption blog
- M Pierce
The Global Anticorruption Blog
- M Jordan