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54 Opinion
bne March 2020
TRACE:
A closer look at corruption risk in the western Balkans
Robert Clark of Trace
Corruption rankings are a serious business. Like other graded institutional assessments – such as best universities, hospitals or restaurants – a favourable rating on a corruption index can boost a country’s reputation and attract foreign capital, while a poor rating can reinforce investor uncertainty and constrain opportunities.
bne IntelliNews recently reported on the generally lacklustre performance of the Western Balkans in the 2019 edition of Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). As implied in the article, continued stagnation – particularly on the part of North Macedonia and Albania, the two lowest-ranked countries in the group – could hinder the region’s progress toward EU membership.
There are questions about whether the CPI, with its focus on perception, is the best way to evaluate the effectiveness of a country’s anti-corruption efforts. It is also worth asking whether a CPI score provides meaningful information about a country’s efforts to foster a better ethical climate. While
a top-line score can be helpful for ranking purposes, a score that more accurately reflects the factors contributing to
Anti-bribery business organization TRACE finds some starkly different results measuring corruption in the Balkans compared to Transparency International.
the condition – not just perceptions of the condition – will provide a better foundation for business and government decisions regarding corruption and risk.
Anti-bribery business organization TRACE’s Bribery Risk Matrix relies on data from a range of international and non- governmental sources to examine the conditions in each jurisdiction that are likely to have an effect on bribery risk.
“It is also worth asking whether
a CPI score provides meaningful information about a country’s efforts to foster a better ethical climate”
These include the volume and character of bureaucratic interaction, the state’s capacity to prosecute corrupt behaviour, governmental transparency, and the ability of the press and civil society to act as a check on abuses.
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