Corruption prevention to foster small and medium-sized enterprise development

12 July 2012 | This report indentifies corruption and how it undermines the rule of law, results in the inefficient allocation of scarce resources, demoralizes democratic political systems and undermines respect for human rights. Corruption also impedes economic growth. With rampant corruption, foreign and domestic investment is discouraged because corruption destroys predictability and increases the cost of doing business. It increases the uncertainty and risk attached to investment and reduces incentives for entrepreneurs. T

The level of corruption has been identified as a serious constraint to doing business by over 70 per cent of firms in South Asia and almost as many in developing countries in East Asia and in the Middle East and North Africa. Sixty-four per cent of firms in Africa, almost 60 per cent in Latin America and about half in the Commonwealth of Independent States and Central and Eastern Europe report corruption to be a serious impediment to their development.