Articles in the Latest Issue of Economic Reform Today
This special issue of Economic Reform Today, "Business Views on Combating Corruption," will focus on practical approaches to containing corruption and improving international and local business environments for all private firms. Here is a complete listing of the articles featured in the corruption issue:

• Letter from the Publisher
  
  
• New Tools to Fight Corruption? by Nancy Zuker Boswell, Managing Director of the US Chapter of Transparency International. An expert on corruption in international business transactions, Boswell argues that the OECD's Convention on Combating Bribery will take a bite into global corruption by targeting its source.
  
  
• Will the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention be Effective? Interview with Eleanor Roberts Lewis, Chief Counsel for International Commerce, US Department of Commerce. Ms. Lewis analyses the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery and explains how the convention will be implemented and monitored and she candidly assesses the likelihood that it will reduce global corruption.
  
  
• How to Fight Corruption on the Ground, by Peter Langseth, Senior Public Sector Management Specialist in the World Bank's Economic Development Institute. A prescription of political will from the top and public pressure from the base is what Langseth, an expert on global anti-corruption programs, argues is necessary for increasing public accountability and thereby decreasing the corruption that is stifling development in the world's poorest countries.
  
  
• How Bad is Corruption? A 1997 survey by the World Bank. The survey asked 4000 entrepreneurs in 69 countries to rate obstacles, corruption is high on the list of obstacles to conducting business in developing countries, as to how seriously they obstruct business.
  
  
• Combating Corruption in Oil-Rich Azerbaijan
  
  
• Bribing Customs: A Case Study by Motorola. Motorola as part of its ongoing international ethics program for employees has presented hypothetical case studies based on real situations; overall it presents a thought-provoking look into corruption.
  
  
• Brazil: Targeting Corruption in Public Bidding, by Arthur Maranhao, Luiz Pedone and David Fleischer. These professors at the University of Brasilia argued that a past law that increased the discretionary powers of local officials involved with government procurement only served to increase corruption whereas a new 1993 law that limits their powers has added transparency to the entire process.
  
  
• European Business Association Seeks Transparency, by the Center for International Private Enterprise. In striving to increase the transparency of the EU's public procurement market, the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Eurochambres) has proposed using independent ombudsmen to investigate possible violations.
  
  
• Corruption in Bulgaria Threatens Social Stability, by the Center for International Private Enterprise. Weakening their confidence in democracy is just one of the symptoms of a political system plagued with corruption concluded the Center for the Study of Democracy, CSD a CIPE-funded grantee. The article also showcases CIPE-funded anti-corruption efforts with partner organizations in Slovakia and Ecuador.
  
  
• Corruption Versus Clean Business in Ukraine, by Inna Pidluska, Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research's project director for the Ukrainian edition of Economic Reform Today. Taking a look into the labyrinth of problems that Ukrainian businesses must negotiate everyday, due to complex regulations and frequent government inspections, has proven to the author that "increasing the predictability of government regulations and intervention is the most effective way to combat the scourge of corruption."