2009 Anti-Corruption Course

From October 10 to October 17, 2009 the University of Passau organized the annual anticorruption training "The Economics of Corruption: A University Training in Good Governance and Reform". A group of more than 80 students, practitioners and doctoral scholars from around the world attended. Guest presentations by David Hawkes, Peter Graeff, Robert Esser and Declan Hill enriched the course to become truly interdisciplinary. David Leigh as the keynote speaker impressed the audience with his detailed account of how he uncovered the BAE systems scandal. "This was the best class we ever had" was the conclusion reached by Prof. Graf Lambsdorff after an exhausting and tremendously inspiring week. See the programm and further information on the event here

Approach the Foto Gallery here

This international course is part of a comprehensive Master's Program at the University of Passau .

Three Reviews on The Institutional Economics of Corruption and Reform

The latest publication by Prof. Lambsdorff has been reviewed recently. Read the reviews in three leading journals. Public Choice, 2009, vol. 138 (1): 257-258, Comparative Economic Studies, 2009, Vol. 51 (1): 149-151, , Development and Change, 2008, Vol. 39(4): 711-712.

The Organization of Anticorruption

A new research contribution has been released. Please approach.

From October 4 to October 11 the University of Passau organized the annual anticorruption training and the the 1^st Passau Anticorruption Symposium. Please visit our photo gallery. For further information on this event, please visit our documentary page. The event was well covered by Der Spiegel . The Austrian Ö1 produced an extended radio coverage.

Presentations by guests and international participants are available for download!

copyright of photo by Peter Schinzler

This international course marked the kick-off for a Master's Program at the University of Passau. Students who enroll in the Master in International Economics and Business can pick a focus in "Governance, Institutions and Anticorruption". Read more about this opportunity here.

2008 Corruption Perceptions Index

The 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index has been released on Sep. 23 2008. All data and background information can be found on this Website.

Publication by Prof. Graf Lambsdorff at Cambridge University Press released 2007

The Institutional Economics of Corruption and Reform: Theory, Evidence and Policy Corruption has been a feature of public institutions for centuries yet only relatively recently has it been made the subject of sustained scientific analysis. Lambsdorff shows how insights from institutional economics can be used to develop a better understanding of why corruption occurs and the best policies to combat it. He argues that rather than being deterred by penalties, corrupt actors are more influenced by other factors such as the opportunism of their criminal counterparts and the danger of acquiring a reputation of unreliabilty. This suggests a novel strategy for fighting corruption similar to the invisible hand that governs competitive markets. This strategy - the 'invisible foot' - shows that the unreliability of corrupt counterparts induces honesty and good governance even in the absence of good intentions. Combining theoretical research with state-of-the-art empirical investigations, this book will be an invaluable resource for researchers and policy-makers concerned with anti-corruption reform. Order this book now from Amazon

Chinese Version Passau, July 2007. A chinese translation of the book is now available. We would like to thank Guo Yong, Liu Guoxiang, Fan Xiaoyan and Qiao Jiying for translating and proofreading the book. Thanks are also due to Cai Wei, Cheng Wenhao and the Anti-Corruption & Governance Research Center, School of Public Policy & Management, Tsinghua University.