06 December 2006

About This Issue

"Corruption is no longer a local matter but a transnational phenomenon that affects all societies and economies, making international cooperation to prevent and control it essential."—United Nations Convention Against Corruption

"We have identified corruption as the single greatest obstacle to economic and social development."—The World Bank

"Corruption traps millions in poverty."—Transparency International

"For too long, the culture of corruption has undercut development and good governance and bred criminality and mistrust around the world."—President George W. Bush

According to the World Bank, corruption can generally be described as the abuse of public power for private benefit. Types of corruption include grand corruption, which involves corruption that pervades the highest level of national government, to petty corruption, the exchange of very small amounts of money or the granting of minor favors by those in minor positions. Regardless of the scope of the corruption, such acts undermine the development of civil society and exacerbate poverty, especially when public resources that would have been used to finance people's aspirations for a better life are mismanaged or abused by public officials.

In recent years, through a series of international agreements, a global framework for combating corruption has begun to emerge. Individual countries can now make their anticorruption efforts more effective by vigorously implementing anticorruption measures and relying on international cooperation to support them. This issue of eJournal USA highlights the important roles that the public sector, private sector, and nongovernmental organizations play in eradicating corruption worldwide.

The Editors