The OECD’s Anti-bribery Convention

Abstract

Corruption is immensely damaging and costly, particularly in the field of North-South development, where the true victims are the poorest and most vulnerable. Uneconomic or unnecessary projects are undertaken which create demands on scarce foreign exchange while the bribes are paid off shore and never enter the host country. Capital contracts cost more than they should, by perhaps 15–20 per cent. Tax revenue is lost. Poorly qualified officials are appointed to senior posts and there is a general lowering of standards in government. Corruption can contribute materially to the collapse of economies and the downfall of political regimes. Surveys have shown that the biggest single deterrent to inward direct investment in a country is the perceived level of corruption.¹