BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

ROLE OF THE WORLD BANK IN COMBATING CORRUPTION IN THE RECIPIENT COUNTRIES: ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES

Author: Ashequa Irshad

DOI Link: DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.56888/BIISSj2013v34n4a4

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the anti-corruption regime of the World Bank and the processes of mainstreaming good governance and anti-corruption programmes in the core functions of the Bank. The major question that the paper answers: how effective the World Bank is in combating corruption in the context of its global aid regime. The paper describes the effectiveness as it is measured by the existing indicators of the World Bank’s performance appraisal set by the Bank and other critical secondary literatures. The sequence of the paper is: first it describes the World Bank’s approach to combating corruption and the different anti-corruption initiatives of the Bank and its institutional framework to fight corruption in the recipient countries. It then analyses the mainstreaming of anti-corruption considerations into the Bank’s operational framework. This discussion also deals with the country specific experiences of the World Bank in promoting anti-corruption and good governance measures. Finally, the paper explains the major challenges that the World Bank experiences in implementing its anti-corruption regime. Although the Bank has achieved significantly in combating corruption, the investigation through this paper reflects the fact that the Bank fails to address the political consequences of combating corruption in some cases. The Bank has failed to create a long-term political commitment among the recipient countries to fight corruption in exchange for Bank’s development assistance. The paper suggests that the Bank should focus more on protecting the integrity of its development funds and plan long-term anti-corruption policy measures, thereby utilising funds properly in reducing corruption.