Buying zero corruption

Half of those polled globally expressed a willingness to pay a premium to buy from corruption-free companies. In Cambodia, Hong Kong, Liberia and Sierra Leone, this number rose to as many as 4 in 5 respondents. Providing business with a powerful incentive to prove that they are clean and to communicate this clearly with the public, this finding makes the business case against corruption even stronger.

However, companies are seen as having far to go to successfully tackle the challenges presented by corruption. More than half of respondents believe that the private sector uses bribes to influence public policy, laws and regulations, and half of respondents view the private sector as corrupt. Worryingly, in approximately a fifth of the countries and territories surveyed, respondents identified the private sector as the most corrupt institution.

Petty bribery hits poor

The global economic downturn has impacted on people around the globe, but the poor are feeling its effects most. As jobs and incomes decrease, petty bribery adds to the already difficult situation faced by low-income households. Just as in past editions, the 2009 Barometer discouragingly reports that low-income respondents continue to be more likely to pay bribes than high-income ones.

“As economic growth shifts into reverse, poor households are increasingly forced to make impossible choices in allocating scarce resources,” said Huguette Labelle, Chair, Transparency International. “Do parents pay a bribe so that a sick child can see a doctor or do they buy food for their family? It is simply unacceptable that families continue to face these decisions.”

The 2009 Barometer estimates that people spend around 7 per cent of their annual disposable income on bribes. Worryingly, petty bribery was reported to be on the rise in Venezuela, Ghana, Indonesia, Cambodia, Bolivia, Senegal, Russia and Kenya.

More than 50 per cent of those polled in Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Uganda reported paying a bribe in the past 12 months. The Middle East and North Africa recorded the worst regional results overall, with 4 in 10 respondents reporting bribe payments in the last year. One in four respondents worldwide who came into contact with the police in the previous year claim to have paid a bribe.

Insufficient government efforts

In correlation with past editions of the Barometer, 68 per cent of respondents perceive political parties as corrupt, with 29 per cent labelling them as the single most corrupt institution in their country. The civil service and parliament follow closely, viewed by 63 and 60 per cent of respondents as being corrupt.

More than half of those interviewed in the 2009 Barometer rated their governments’ anti-corruption efforts as ineffective. Fewer than 1 in 10 respondents in Argentina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania and Ukraine view their governments’ efforts as effective. While seven in 10 or more respondents in Brunei Darussalam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Nigeria and Singapore considered their governments’ efforts to be effective.

Despite evidence that people encounter bribery regularly, only about one in five reported filing a formal complaint. Half of those interviewed consider official channels for making corruption-related complaints ineffective. It is concerning that fear of potential harassment and reprisals meant that a fifth of respondents did not make a formal complaint.

Securing public trust
Just as the past five editions show, the 2009 Barometer underscores citizens’ distrust of public institutions and government anti-corruption efforts, and the daily reality of petty bribe payments in the lives of the poor. The emerging critical view of the private sector and a public willing to pay more for clean business are new developments. However, the 2009 Barometer makes clear that much must be done by the private and public sectors to secure public trust.

English	Spanish
Robin Hodess, Director of Policy and Research, presents the findings of the 2009 Global Corruption Report.	Juanita Riaño, Coordinora Senior - Programa Herramientas de Medición de la Corrupción, presenta los resultados de Latino América del Barómetro Global de la Corrupción (en español)
Robin Hodess Policy & Research Director	Juanita Riaño Senior Programme Coordinator on Measuring Corruption