of the social treaty, of social solidarity and of the fraying of the
social fabric.
No Western country accepts CEE diplomas without further
accreditation, studies and examinations. Many "medical doctors" and
"engineers" who emigrated to Israel from Russia and the former
republics of the USSR - were suspiciously deficient professionally.
Israel was forced to re-educate them prior to granting them a
licence to practice locally.
(e) Reallocation Fees
Benefits paid (mainly to politicians and political decision makers)
in order to affect the allocation of economic resources and material
wealth or the rights thereto. Concessions, licences, permits, assets
privatised, tenders awarded are all subject to reallocation fees.
Here the damage is materially enormous (and visible) but, because it
is widespread, it is "diluted" in individual terms. Still, it is
often irreversible (like when a sold asset is purposefully under-
valued) and pernicious. a factory sold to avaricious and criminally
minded managers is likely to collapse and leave its workers
unemployed.
Corruption pervades daily life even in the prim and often hectoring
countries of the West. It is a win-win game (as far as Game Theory
goes) - hence its attraction. We are all corrupt to varying degrees.
But it is wrong and wasteful - really, counterproductive - to fight
corruption in CEE in a wide front and indiscriminately.
It is the kind of corruption whose evil outcomes outweigh its
benefits that should be fought. This fine (and blurred) distinction
is too often lost on decision makers and law enforcement agencies in
both East and West.
ERADICATING CORRUPTION
An effective program to eradicate corruption must include the
following elements:
(a) Egregiously corrupt, high-profile, public figures,
multinationals, and institutions (domestic and foreign) must be
singled out for harsh (legal) treatment and thus demonstrate that no
one is above the law and that crime does not pay.
(b) All international aid, credits, and investments must be
conditioned upon a clear, performance-based, plan to reduce
corruption levels and intensity. Such a plan should be monitored and
revised as needed. Corruption retards development and produces
instability by undermining the credentials of democracy, state
institutions, and the political class. Reduced corruption is,
therefore, a major target of economic and institutional
developmental.
(c) Corruption cannot be reduced only by punitive measures. A system
of incentives to avoid corruption must be established. Such
incentives should include a higher pay, the fostering of civic
pride, educational campaigns, "good behaviour" bonuses, alternative
income and pension plans, and so on.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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