Most Anti-Corruption Programs Have Lacked Key Components

Thomas Rasmusson and Boakai Dukuly
Additional contact information
Thomas Rasmusson: Adjunct Professor, Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing, Michigan, 48933, USA
Boakai Dukuly: Acting Chair of the Human Rights Commission, REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA

American Journal of Trade and Policy, 2018, vol. 5, issue 2, 49-66

Abstract: The five field studies reported here and published research examined successful and unsuccessful anti-corruption programs and the corruption processes in Africa and Central America. They found most Third World governments' anti-corruption programs have lacked the appropriate mix of strategies and exercises needed to build new behaviors to overcome the core problem of a culture of corruption or the hysteresis effect. The five studies led to the developing and testing of a model anti-corruption program. A test of the model program showed it could be assimilated by participants who lacked advanced education, and they could achieve an initial operational competence in a relatively brief period of training. The authors’ five field studies found eight (8) components were necessary for successful anti-corruption programs, and these findings were bolstered by the published research of others that was empirically based. The eight components are: (1) the actual and visible support of the head of government or C.E.O., (2) behavior modification training for civil servants to build informal social controls and internalize adverse reactions to corruption, (3) a public component to building public support and social conscientiousness, (4) a degree of career security for civil servants, (5) laws and formal structures, such as criminal statutes, ethics code, transparency, audit, legislative incentives such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, other official and independent oversight, (6) exercises and follow up to operationalize new behaviors and feedback, (7) reduction and streamlining of government licensing and regulation of the economy, and (8) training to build new sensitivities to the mission, professionalism, fiduciary duty, and peer group responsibility. The model program developed and tested included skill building, group exercises, role-playing, cohort projects, and practice scripts.

Keywords: Anti-Corruption; Lacked Key Components; Hysteresis; Ethics Code; New Behaviors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D73 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://abc.us.org/ojs/index.php/ajtp/article/view/435/842 Full text (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:ajotap:0060

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Trade and Policy is currently edited by Charles A. Rarick

More articles in American Journal of Trade and Policy from Asian Business Consortium Asian Business Consortium, 10-B-6, Darussalam Tower, Mirpur Road, Dhaka-1216, Bangladesh.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Alim Al Ayub Ahmed ( this e-mail address is bad, please contact ).