PublicationsThe U4 Blog

Research topics

What is corruption? The basics of corruption and anti-corruption efforts for sustainable and inclusive development

30 Research topics

Order:

Anti-corruption agencies

How to assess and improve anti-corruption institutions' performance.

Updated 17 October 2023

Anti-corruption basics

Read about the conditions that facilitate corruption and the general implications for development programming.

Updated 13 March 2023

Anti-corruption courts

Find information on why we may need specialised anti-corruption courts including possible designs and performance analyses.

Updated 18 October 2023

Auditing and financial control

Auditing and controls are essential parts of public financial management. Supreme Audit Institutions play a visible role, and support to strengthen…

Updated 28 October 2021

Budget process

Government income and expenditure are determined and allocated in the budget process. This process is usually divided into four or five stages, and…

Updated 28 October 2021

Civil society

People at large can play an important role in holding power to account and addressing problems of corruption.

Updated 26 October 2022

Climate change

Practitioners working on climate mitigation and adaptation efforts need to understand how corruption impacts such initiatives.

Updated 18 November 2022

Corruption risk management

Corruption risk management is a process to identify, assess, and mitigate corruption risks within an organisation and its activities.

Updated 5 December 2023

Covid-19 and corruption

Anti-corruption procedures and systems of accountability will ensure that development aid deployed to help stop the coronavirus is used well and…

Updated 25 May 2023

Development cooperation

Research on corruption and anti-corruption endeavours related to international aid and how donors address corruption risks.

Updated 5 December 2023

Education

Common types of corruption in the education sector and entry points for anti-corruption interventions in different sub-sectors.

Updated 28 October 2021

Evaluation and measurement

Increasing the impact of anti-corruption interventions through better planning, monitoring and evaluation.

Updated 22 December 2023

Gender

Insights on how to combine two subjects of mainstreaming in donor programming: gender and corruption.

Updated 7 March 2024

Health

Common types of corruption in the health sector and entry points for anti-corruption interventions in different health sub-sectors.

Updated 1 December 2022

Human rights

Exploring the potential of human rights approaches in efforts to counter corruption

Updated 29 January 2024

Illicit financial flows

Laundering proceeds of corruption and generating illicit flows out of development countries – solutions needed at local and international levels.

Updated 14 July 2023

Justice sector

Justice sector institutions can be part of the corruption problem. We look at ways to build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions.

Updated 22 December 2023

Migration

Corruption is both a driver and enabler of migration. Corruption affects what happens in terms of development outcomes in migrants’ country of origin.

Updated 26 October 2021

Natural resources and energy

Understanding how corruption harms the environment and development, can help choose how to act.

Updated 28 February 2024

Oil, gas, and mining

We explain the link between these resources and corrupt behavior. Suggestions for anti-corruption efforts in extractive industries.

Updated 28 February 2024

Politics of anti-corruption

Entry-points for approaching politicised corruption

Updated 2 December 2022

Private sector

Find out how donors can work with the private sector to reduce corruption and improve developing country economies.

Updated 5 December 2023

Procurement

Guidance on how to implement procurement systems based on transparency, competition and integrity

Updated 26 October 2021

Public financial management

Research on corruption and anti-corruption in all sides of public financial management – revenues, budgets and spending.

Updated 28 January 2022

Public sector accounting

Weak procedures for managing the government’s financial transactions, assets, records, and reports can open up for corruption, embezzlement, and…

Updated 26 October 2021

Public service delivery

Learn how mainstreaming anti-corruption in sector strategies help to achieve sector goals.

Updated 1 December 2022

Renewable resources

How to understand and deal with the different corruption risks in renewable resource sectors to avoid devastating impacts.

Updated 22 June 2023

Social norms and networks

To be effective, anti-corruption policies should be designed with social norms in mind.

Updated 2 December 2022

Tax and revenue collection

Tax and revenue collection is an area open to damaging corruption. This is because taxation offers opportunities for both state officials and private…

Updated 31 January 2022

Ukraine

Resources in both English and Ukrainian on anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine, and useful lessons from elsewhere.

Updated 11 March 2024