Theme 1. Corruption and Governance in Fragile States

As the world scales up its development assistance, corruption has again taken center stage in the debate on aid effectiveness. The scale and complexity of problems related to corruption and poor governance can at times seem insurmountable. And, while commitment to the issues is strong, there is little agreement on can be done to do to reduce the problem. One factor confusing the discussion is a lack of clarity on just what we are talking about: reducing corruption as an end in and of itself, or reducing corruption as a means of increasing development and creating effective states. CGD's work on corruption and governance will examine how development assistance can be designed and implemented in ways that reduce graft and improve governance where it matters most for key development outcomes: in public sector service delivery and private sector job creation.