Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia - Ethiomedia

2 Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia
This publication fulfills the first stage of the process through a set of
preliminary studies that map the nature of corruption in eight Ethiopian
sectors, focusing on three key objectives:
Develop sector frameworks that enable mapping of the potential areas
of corruption on a sector-by-sector basis.
Map the different forms and types of corrupt practices in the selected
sectors.
Consider the higher-risk areas and identify appropriate sector or crosscutting
responses for government and other stakeholders.
Unraveling the Issues and Challenges
Corruption is widely seen as one of the biggest impediments to economic
growth, investment, and poverty reduction in developing contexts. The
World Bank defines corruption as “the use of public office for private
gain” (Campos and Pradhan 2007) and elaborates that corruption has a
number of faces: bureaucratic corruption, nepotism and patronage, and
state capture (often equated with political corruption).
Transparency International defines corruption as “the abuse of entrusted
power for private gain” and also differentiates between “according to rule”
corruption (where bribes might be given to receive preferential treatment
for services to which users are entitled by law) and “against the rule” corruption
(where the service provider is not entitled to provide that service
by law. ” ) 1
Sector-Based Corruption Assessment
The body of literature on corruption has expanded in recent years, filling
gaps and systematically building knowledge and understanding. The
Many Faces of Corruption: Tracking Vulnerabilities at the Sector Level
(Campos and Pradhan 2007) introduced an approach to corruption
assessment that prioritized sector-level efforts within the World Bank
Governance and Anticorruption (GAC) agenda. The sector-based
approach allows for a more tangible and easily understandable approach
to corruption analysis and action. Those working in a particular sector
often know what the issues and challenges are. Furthermore, by breaking
the problem down sector-by-sector, it is possible both to determine what
can be done to meet challenges and to produce an overview of which
institutions in a given country context seem prone to corruption—and
which do not.