Globalization and Corruption

the terms being used, the advocates of good governance and the quality of government assert that public service ethics is a crucial element of governance. Without ethics, the search for good governance is fruitless. Without ethics, government resources will be mismanaged; and in an extreme situation will cause serious devastation and the failure of the states. The term public ethics includes the values and norms and the moral standards or principles that guide the public services. Ethics are the defined as the code of conduct.

Globalization and CorrUPtion Globalization has opened up, on the one hand, opportunities to ensure accountability, and, on the other, opportunities for corruption. It provides opportunities for multinational corporations to locate their businesses outside their national borders, especially in the developing countries, which do not have strict enforcement of laws regulating business, labor and the environment. Furthermore, many developing countries characterized by a high level of corruption allow multinational corporations to bypass laws through the payments of bribes or tax sweeteners. Therefore, one of the major challenges for developed countries is how to enforce laws on the companies, which are located beyond their borders. The challenge for developing countries, by contrast, is to enforce laws without discouraging investment in their countries. There is thus a “race to the bottom” among the developing countries in terms of the enforcement of business, labor, and environmental regulations since stricter laws can deter potential investors. Therefore, developing countries must balance economic interest and the protection of labor and environmental interests. Although labor and environmental degradation can lead to long-term problems for nations, governments in developing countries especially feel the urgency to solve the economic problems of unemployment and poverty.

Within this context, the challenge for public administration is to establish ethics and accountability, which would promote good governance and quality of government. Corruption in the government can have farreaching consequences that affect the whole population. Corruption, on the part of either an individual or an organization, can have a damaging impact on the people affected. Corruption by the government, however, can have devastating effects on everybody in the country. In a globalized world, corruption by a government can have an effect that is limited not to a single country, but spreads across many countries.

According to Transparency International, the costs of corruption can be divided into four separate categories: political, economic, social, and environmental. Politically, corruption is a serious threat to democracy and liberties. Ethics and accountability are the most important factors of democracy and trust in effective governance and administration; they prevent opportunities for corruption and bad administration (UN 2007). Corruption can destroy the legitimacy of the government which is democratically elected. Excessive corruption can destroy the confidence and trust of the people in the government. Tomescu and Popescu (2013, p. 201) assert, “Corrupt leaders in government cannot promote the public interest or sustain the public trust. Public administration may be no more than governance of the society. The problem of ethical lapse in government is lost trust in public service leaders.”

Corruption has been identified as an impediment to the sustainability of political and administrative institutions. According to the OECD, it “hinders both public and private sector productivity. It perpetuates inequality and poverty, impacting well-being and the distribution of income and undermining opportunities to participate equally in social, economic and political life ” (OECD 2017, p. 1). Professionals must consider their responsibilities in the actual interplay of practice and knowledge advancement. Public administrators have to make a constant stream of decisions involving significant expenditure and affecting a large number of people. Public servants need ways for ethical decision making that acknowledge the enduring change (Emison 2010).

The removal of corruption is particularly important in newly democratic countries because it can increase the legitimacy of their governments. In fact, many military takeovers have taken place in Asia, Africa, and Latin America on the pretext of removing corruption. Economically, corruption diverts important resources from beneficial to worthless projects. The latter may be of benefit to the ruling classes, and actively harmful to the interests of a large number of people. Socially, corruption causes deep frustration among the public, destroying their trust in both officials and institutions. Environmentally, corruption causes weak enforcement of regulations relating to natural resources and damage to natural resources can have a devastating effect on the welfare of the countries. According to Transparency International (2015), 68 percent of the world’s countries are regarded as having problems with corruption.