Involving the private sector will not only allow more sophisticated and
sensitive policy responses to corruption to be developed but will also put pressure on the private sector to raise its own standards of behavior. The following actions could be part of a government-private sector partnership against corruption:
• involving representatives of the private sector in designing anticorruption strategies in vulnerable departments such as customs, taxation, industrial policy, infrastructure, and investment.
• engaging in a dialogue about how to solve the collective action problem associated with bribery: how to prevent some firms from continuing to bribe when others stop, thereby creating incentives for the others to revert to bribery again. The model antibribery legislation sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an example in that it promises significant penalties for those who continue to pay bribes. Another example is the Integrity Pact concept being piloted in Indonesia, requiring a formal no-bribery commitment from all bidders for government contracts.
• encouraging higher standards of corporate governance. The OECD Principles of Corporate Governance (April 1999) provide a useful model for a local initiative.
• developing and implementing company codes of conduct and ensuring their effectiveness through internal control mechanisms, personnel training, and sanctions.
• adopting accounting and auditing rules and standards to ensure transparency in business transactions.