The Economics of Corruption 2008 / Studying Anticorruption at the University Level

The annual program "The Economics of Corruption - A University Training in Good Governance and Reform", headed by Prof. Dr. Johann Graf Lambsdorff, will take place from October 4-11, 2008. Further information on the Economics of Corruption 2008 is available here.

This international course is the kick-off event 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.

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2007

All data, background material and excel-sheets will can be found on this Website.

New Research Contributions

New research contributions have been submitted to the Internet Center for Corruption Research. Read them here.

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.