| Daniel Kaufmann, Director of the World Bank Institute’s Global Programs, delivered the 2005 David B. Goodman Lecture at the University of Toronto’sFaculty of Law on February 10th. Kaufmann is a leading expert, researcher, and adviser on governance and development. He has pioneered new empirical approaches and survey methodologies and provides support to developing countries on good governance, anti-corruption programs and capacity building.
Kaufmann was introduced by Ron Daniels, Dean of the Faculty of Law. After the opening remarks, Kaufmann presented his lecture, “Debunking the Myths on Worldwide Governance and Corruption.” He explained why measuring corruption is important in the development agenda and elaborated upon the role of legal institutions in combating corruption and the economic costs associated with this task. Kaufmann described the relationship between good governance and per capita income. Good governance results in a considerable increase in per capita income, he noted, but the causal linkage is not reversible; higher per capita income does not lead to improvements in governance. Relating this point to global trends, Kaufmann presented a global governance map, showing the variations and trends across different countries and regions over the past eight years.
Kaufmann also addressed the high economic costs of crime, including terrorism, organized crime, common crime and state capture, and he demonstrated a statistically significant, positive correlation between money laundering and diversion of public funds. He showed how, in some regions, empowered civil society groups can act as a positive force against bribery and unaccountable governments. Additional “entry points” to good governance, he asserted, are institutional checks and balances, political accountability, public sector management, and a competitive private sector. Kaufmann advocated an anti-corruption approaches that emphasizes prevention.
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