CIBER Focus: "The Fight Against Corruption" with Ahn Tran

Anh Tran discusses the state of corruption throughout the world with Kelley MBA student Nick Sterne. Tran, Professor for the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, ranks a variety of countries on a corruption scale, with Switzerland among the least corrupt nations and sub-Saharan African countries among the worst. Corruption is a way of life in certain areas of the world. It can destroy economies by raising the cost of doing business and killing incentives. On the other hand, the level of corruption can also be significant while still not having much effect on the economy and society, as in China. Tran explains that the challenge is to understand why corruption can be so detrimental in some parts of the world while having very little impact in other areas. Tran explains the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enacted by the United States to prevent corruption. This act did not apply to other countries, but the United States has pressured other countries to adopt similar standards through the Anti-Bribery Convention. Tran explains the positive effects of regulation through an anecdote about the Siemens bribery case. Corruption leads to a disadvantage to uncorrupt companies. It forces them to have an ultra-high quality product to compete effectively with the corrupt firms. Tran ends the discussion by explaining that to effectively fight corruption, a bottom-up approach needs to be implemented by the people of the corrupt nation. The people need to have the ability to criticize their government officials for their wrongdoings. *This video was recorded as a part of the Indiana University CIBER Focus Vodcast Series.