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3 Corruption in public
health
Maureen Lewis
Institutions and governance have emerged as the back bone of
development, and are increasingly being shown as critical to income
levels (Rigobon and Rodrik, 2004; Rodrik, Subramanian and Trebbi,
2004; Kaufman and Kraay, 2002), fostering overall development
(Kaufmann, Kraay and Mastruzzi, 2005), ensuring sound macroeconomic
policies (IMF, 1997; Berg, 2005) and per capita income growth
(World Bank, 2003b). The World Bank’s 2006 World Development
Report looks again at the determinants of poverty and argues for an
emphasis on equal opportunity and the institutional infrastructure
(World Bank, 2006). The recent UK government’s Report on the Commission
for Africa places a premium on governance and institutions
as complementary to other actions in bolstering development
prospects in the region, and the US government’s Millennium Challenge
Corporation expects to spend billions of dollars on countries
that demonstrate good governance. Thus both theory and empirical
evidence is accumulating to place governance at the center of development
thinking, spending and action.
At the same time the international community has pledged their
support in helping countries reach a set of ambitious Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) that would sharply reduce poverty, raise
educational levels and reduce mortality, among other achievements.
The combination of the two threads suggests the need to ensure
that institutional development is fostered in conjunction with
efforts to accelerate progress on economic and social fronts.
Improving human capital in reaching the MDGs and raising