Are Governments Doing Enough to Curb Bribery?

In the 26 countries where the Bribe Payers Survey was carried out, two-thirds of senior business executives surveyed expressed the view that governments are ineffective in the fight against corruption. This result shows that senior representatives of the business community in many countries do not feel that governments are adequately addressing the issue of bribery and corruption.

Views vary across regions, however, almost half of all businesspeople polled in Latin American countries called government efforts to curb corruption ‘very  ineffective’. Western European and US senior business executives were more likely to express a positive response, with about 3 in 10 deeming government efforts effective.

Of the 26 countries surveyed, businesspeople in Pakistan, Senegal and South Africa were the most extreme in their criticism of government efforts.

At the other end of the spectrum, Singapore represented a unique case: nearly three-quarters of those surveyed felt the government was very effective in fighting corruption. Senior business executives from France and Indonesia were also overwhelmingly satisfied; more so than those in other countries surveyed.

Prevalence of Corruption in Public and Other Institutions

Senior business executives judged political parties, parliaments/ legislatures, police and registry and permit services to be the public institutions most affected by corruption in their respective countries. The military and religious bodies were viewed as least corrupt.

Lower-income country respondents offered the view that a number of institutions and agencies are more affected by corruption than their counterparts in wealthier countries. Many of these institutions, such as parliament/ legislature, education, police, registry and permit services, utilities, tax revenue authority and customs, are the public bodies often associated with petty corruption in the developing world.

Important differences emerge in the business executives’ view of corruption in institutions across countries. Political parties are considered to be the most affected by corruption for respondents in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Meanwhile, for respondents in Ghana, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa, the police are seen as the most affected. For respondents in Russia, the police share first place with registry and permit services. In Egypt, registry and permit services are viewed as most corrupt, while in the Philippines it is customs, and in Senegal, both sectors are given the worst scores. According to respondents from Indonesia and South Korea, the most serious challenge in terms of corruption is faced by the parliament and legislature. Business executives interviewed in Singapore rated religious bodies as most affected by corruption while, for respondents in Morocco, the judiciary faces the biggest challenge. (See Table A3 in Appendix 3)