The Global Financial Crisis was described by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland as the ‘perfect storm’

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called Wednesday for the complete reform of the world’s financial systems during keynote speeches at the World Economic Forum. Putin said it was time to “do away with virtual money” and establish an “economy of real values” grounded in a “just and efficient global economic architecture.”  Premier Wen warned that further action was needed internationally to “restore market confidence” and protect world economic growth.

You might get the impression from the language used that we are talking about natural processes that the world leaders must in some way correct. .. A little bit like the weather or global warming.

However Daniel Kaufmann has quite a different take on the situation in linking Corruption And The Global Financial Crisis.

Corruption is not unique to developing countries, nor has it declined on average. Some developing countries, such as Chile and Botswana, exhibit lower levels of corruption than some fully industrialized nations. And countries like Colombia and Liberia have made gains in recent years, while others, such as Zimbabwe, have deteriorated. Bribery remains rife in many countries, totaling about $1 trillion globally every year.

In truth, anti corruption commissions, revised laws and awareness-raising campaigns have had limited success. Focus on petty or administrative bribery has been misplaced at the expense of high-level political corruption.

The examples discussed in his article require much tougher standards and much greater levels of vigilance.  The Internet may well have made the world more open but that alone will not curb corruption.

He certainly knows what he is talking about. Daniel Kaufmann is a Chilean citizen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and formerly was director of governance at the World Bank.   A longer article is to be found on his blog where he discusses the lessons to be drawn from the US financial crisis.

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