The Costs of Corruption for the Poor—The Energy Sector
In recent years the fight against corruption has assumed a key place in development policy, as a way of strengthening economic growth and helping civil society and democracy to function. Corruption not only stifles growth. It also perpetuates or de...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Viewpoint |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2000/04/2529961/costs-corruption-poor-energy-sector http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11437 |
| Summary: | In recent years the fight against
corruption has assumed a key place in development policy, as
a way of strengthening economic growth and helping civil
society and democracy to function. Corruption not only
stifles growth. It also perpetuates or deepens inequality,
as the few amass power and wealth at the expense of the
many. The energy sector lends itself to corrupt practices.
This is a result both of its traditional institutional
arrangements-dominated by state monopolies controlling oil,
gas, or electricity-and of the sheer amount of cash it can
generate. Corruption in energy takes many forms, from petty
corruption in meter reading and billing to grand corruption
in the allocation of lucrative monopolies. These practices
differ in scale but contribute to the same results-weak
operational and financial performance and, for the poor in
particular, declining service quality or reduced chances of
ever accessing network services. The answer to corruption is
continuing reform, to reduce the incentive and potential to
capture monopoly rents and to increase the transparency of
public and private transactions, regulatory structures, and
decision-making processes. |
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