Giant_and_Dwarf-FIN

Giant and DwarfNothing is going to prevent corruption where there is a huge desire to corrupt and becorrupted; in this case the only option is to compare data from various countries in order togenerate pressure from partners and neighbours, known as peer pressure, in order to getthem to steal less. The more countries that join EITI, the larger the peer pressure on others tojoin and not remain outside the club. At the same time it becomes clear to the non-membersthat remaining outside the club is tantamount to announcing to the public and the UN that“We are the most corrupt!” The existence of the EITI and similar agreements also gives theinhabitants of developing countries reason to demand that their politicians join up or atleast to have their politicians explain why the country is remaining off on the side.Another process that can help clean up this mess, and often bloody hands, in the miningindustry is the so-called Kimberley Process, which De Beers, the world’s largest diamondmining company, introduced under pressure from the global community. De Beers had longdoubted or called into question the existence of blood diamonds despite the mountingevidence that diamonds had been used to finance debts from civil wars and violence inAngola, Congo, Liberia and other countries. The company finally gave in to pressure fromNGOs in wealthy countries and decided to resolve the problem by certifying diamonds.Today every legally extracted diamond has its own identity and certificate and only thesediamonds reach the world’s markets legally. As no diamond retailer in Europe or the USAsells any diamonds other than certified diamonds, so-called alluvial, illegally-extracteddiamonds from war zones are no longer sold or their prices have dropped to around 10 % ofmarket price. Some of the conflicts previously financed by illegal diamonds sales lost theirfunding, which had ensured the transfer of weapons and ammunition and fed the flamesof violence.Much the same as a diamond’s structure and clarity, it is now possible to trace the originsof every diamond and the origin of every barrel of oil on the world’s markets. Of course,some refineries may use oil from various extraction sites but it is possible to determinewhat portion comes from what country. Collier speculates public pressure could lead toa technically feasible requirement to inform drivers at filling stations as to the origins of theoil used to produce the diesel fuel or petrol they are filling into their vehicles. Pressure fromEuropean and American consumers could ultimately cause oil from countries that are notEITI members or extraction that does not respect the environment to become a good forwhich there is no demand, thereby lowering the price and increasing market pressures onthe given country and company. Of course, as long as China remains hungry for resourcessuch as oil and other raw materials, the effectiveness of such tools remains problematic.Not even China needs to remain outside of similar initiatives, in particular when even Chinais beginning to discover the limits of its own growth and strength.EITI and the Kimberley Process are only two of many international mechanisms that arenot specifically financial aid for developing countries but are a major part of the package ofdevelopment aid tools. There are a multitude of similar tools that motivate using mechanismsof comparison with neighbours (peer pressure) or that facilitate private investmentin poor countries. One of those we have mentioned is that the corruption perceptions index162