Transparency International Report 2009

I came across the interesting statistic recently that the cost of corruption equals more than 5% of global GDP (US $2.6 trillion), with over US $1 trillion paid in bribes each year. This set me off on a quick perusal of the topic. Transparency International, in particular, has some really good publications available for free on their website.

The annual TI Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), first released in 1995, is the best known of TI’s tools. It has been widely credited with putting TI and the issue of corruption on the international policy agenda. The CPI ranks more than 150 countries by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys.

In recent years, TI has sought to develop other corruption measurement tools to complement the CPI. The Bribe Payers’ Index (BPI) assesses the supply side of corruption and ranks corruption by source country and industry sector.

So, where the US ranks on both lists?

• 19th least corrupt out of the 150 countries surveyed for the 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index
• 12th biggest bribe payer out of the 22 countries surveyed for the 2008 Bribe Payer's Index
  

If you have the time and the interest their 2009 Annual Report is also an excellent read. From a Public Affairs perspective the sections on lobbying are particularly interesting.

From the executive summary:

Corruption risks in corporate lobbying can turn legitimate participation into undue influence and put the legitimacy of governments and business itself at risk

Businesses are entitled to be heard in the democratic decision-making process, and lobbying conveys important information and opinion to political representatives and public officials. There is a risk, however, that powerful private sector players capture policies and governments and profoundly thwart democratic decisions, posing a signifi cant threat to accountable and inclusive governance everywhere.

The Global Corruption Report 2009 presents evidence of persistently close linkages between business and governments in developing and industrialised countries alike, multiple conflicts of interest and the growing risks of disproportionate infl uence on the part of corporate lobbying. Case studies from Bangladesh, Germany, Malaysia and Trinidad and Tobago all document a precariously close nexus between private business and public institutions. In the United Kingdom, politically connected firms are estimated to account for almost 40 per cent of market capitalisation – a level that rises to a staggering 80 per cent in Russia.

In addition, the scale and rapid growth of lobbying raises serious concerns about equal visibility and the right to get heard for citizens who cannot afford to hire lobbyists. In Brussels an estimated 2,500 lobbying organisations with 15,000 lobbyists vie for infl uence on EU policy-making. In the United States, lobbying expenditures by companies have risen sharply and, at state level, lobbying expenditures average US$200,000 per legislator, while five lobbyists vie for the attention of each lawmaker.