Transparency in the extractives sector is widely seen as a key tool for improving accountability and deterring corruption. Yet for those very reasons, it is a puzzle that so many governments in corruption-prone countries have voluntarily signed up to greater scrutiny in this area, by joining the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

Collective action initiatives in which governments and companies make anti-corruption commitments have proliferated in recent years.

This apparently prosocial behavior defies the logic of collective action and, given that bribery often goes undetected and unpunished, is not easily explained by principal-agent theory. Club theory suggests that the answer lies in the institutional design of anti-corruption clubs: collective action can work as long as membership has high entry costs, members receive selective benefits, and compliance is adequately policed.

This guide provides a basic introduction for government of officials, civil society groups and the private sector on eliminating corruption risks in public procurement. It is intended to inform and guide participants in public procurement, as well as civil society groups, on what can be done to strengthen the procurement process against corruption and its damaging effects. 

Public procurement is a place where governments and companies used to be alone, and where citizens are increasingly present. Examining the rules under which governments acquire goods and services is fundamental to determine how transparent and competitive governments are when purchasing with taxpayer money. Transparent procurement increases social and consumer welfare, it ensures sound national and local government budgeting, stimulates an economy based on innovation, and strengthens democratic governance

This report aims to provide an overview of business integrity and anti-bribery legislation, policies and practices applicable to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) operating across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

Companies today, in particular banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions, increasingly operate their businesses in a group structure. These financial groups have a growing presence in markets worldwide and the economy as a whole. To do business effectively and efficiently in group structures, corporate groups should be managed in a holistic and integrated manner, in much the same way as an enterprise.

This paper sets out lessons from a mixed-methods study that identified and explored ‘positive outlier’ cases of bribery reduction in challenging governance environments. It discusses the two cases the research examined in depth:

Transparency International’s Business Integrity Country Agenda (BICA) seeks to create a relevant body of evidence on business integrity in a given country, a widely shared agenda for reform and a collective momentum for change towards more business integrity among key stakeholders.

Transparency International envisages that the BICAs will become important reference points for fighting corruption in business practices within countries and around the globe.