One of the more challenging – and promising – lines of work that CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center has developed in recent years involves scanning the world for signs of a government that has sincerely embraced anti-corruption reforms. Sometimes it is hard to tell what is real and what is not. Newly ensconced leaders’… Read More
In August 2014, I stood in a sunlit atrium of the National Academy of Sciences, the host of the Civil Society Forum of the first U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit. Surrounded by participants hustling between workshops, I began contemplating broad questions that would lead me along unexpected paths to where I sit today. Two in particular has… Read More
People tend to think about corruption as a problem constrained to a country’s borders, its neighbors, or other nearby countries. Even a corrupt customs service, for example, has little direct influence beyond the country of origin and the destination market. Maritime corruption, on the other hand, spans the globe. The importance of maritime trade cannot… Read More
“It’s incredibly difficult to be an honest entrepreneur in this country. People in government agencies expect you to pay them a bribe to do what they are paid to do, otherwise they sabotage you. These things make me wonder if Ghana can really work.” This statement, posted on Facebook recently by a young entrepreneur in… Read More
I’ve been playing board games since I learned to play chess at six. Over the past five years, board games have become a booming niche industry. The most popular games—like the Settlers of Catan—sell millions upon millions of copies, while the most venerated games—like Gloomhaven—have large online forums devoted to custom player-created content, tips… Read More
Last month, CIPE published “Impact Investing and Bribery: Risks and Incentives” in response to increasing interest in impact investing, especially within the non-profit community. The post briefly discussed the risks that come with impact investing, as well as advised impact investors on how to mitigate their risk. As a follow up to that post, this… Read More