Corruption and public procurement

Abstract

"The cost of corruption in procurement is difficult to measure quantitatively, if at all, due to the clandestine environment in which it takes place. Given the massive amounts of money spent on public contracts, however, no one doubts that corruption in procurement has an immense impact on the effectiveness of government investments. Transparency International estimates that damage from corruption can represent on average 10 to 25 per cent — and in the worst cases as much as 50 per cent — of a contract’s value.7 Surveys at the country level equally suggest such a high price tag for businesses when it comes to corruption in procurement."