ETHICS AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE CHALLENGES
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i nstitutionalists advocate for formal procedures and instruments to comply with accountability, focusing on the areas of hierarchy and structures. By contrast, the rights-based paradigm promotes accountability based on individual human rights or entitlements. It is based on the premise that individuals delegate power to government, which is responsible for ensuring rights and entitlements. The third type, the individual choice paradigm, considers accountability from the point of clientele perspectives. If the government is able to fulfill the obligations, individuals can withdraw from the service. Finally, the collective action accountability paradigm is established through the interaction of different actors. There is, therefore, a multiple level of accountability, which makes it difficult to implement. The new nature of the problems in a globalized world further complicates the issues of ethics and accountability.
Ethics for Good Governance The increasing influence of international financial institutions is one of the major aspects of globalization. Financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) play a major role in the economic development of developing countries. However, the financial institutions are concerned that despite the significant aid to the developing countries, many of the recipient countries are not achieving expected level of economic development because of corruption. International organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations have been pressing for good governance for ending corruption and ineffectiveness. “A core principle of good governance is for a local civil service that provides public services for citizens in an ethical environment that is free from corruption” (Kolthoff et al. 2010, p. 597). One of the major concerns for both academics and politicians is the issue of corruption. The discussion of corruption is a prominent part of the opposition’s critique of government. Corruption is responsible for an increasing in the level of citizens’ mistrust of their governments. Trust in government has been declining not only in developing countries, but also across the developed world. Faced by budget deficits and a scarcity of resources, governments around the world are under increasing pressure to improve governance. The World Bank has developed Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) to measure good governance. On the other hand, there are researchers who insist on the quality of government. Regardless of controversy over
