Corruption and Public Administration The Italian Case in a Comparative Perspective

Corruption and Public Administration looks at public sector organizations and what they have achieved since signing the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) Agreement in Merida in 2004. It examines how the signee countries engaged in the set-up of institutions to contain corruption in public administration, and how these governments and institutions have progressed. The book compares several developed countries, and undertakes an especially detailed examination of Italy. It highlights strengths and weaknesses, and proposes organizational means of addressing the issues, which include diversity in organizational structures and systems, and a focus on prevention rather than repression. The book shines a light on anti-corruption practices and aims to foster open discussion about this pressing topical issue among peers in all relevant fields of the social sciences.

Introduction Part I. The international landscape of anti-corruption efforts Chapter 1 Varieties of approach and country cases 1.1 The nature of corruption 1.2 The set of countries under observation 1.3 Dimensions of the country analysis 1.4 Country case: France 1.5 Country case: Italy 1.6 Country case: the United Kingdom 1.7 Country case: the United States of America 1.8 Country case: Australia 1.5 Summary Chapter 2 The mission and operations of the Italian experiment 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Timeline of Anti-corruption Authority key statutes and events 2.3 Towards a cycle of planning and feedback 2.4 Conclusions Chapter 3 An inside-out view of Italy’s Anti-corruption Authority 3.1 Supervision activities 3.2 Regulatory activities 3.3 The Anti-corruption Authority’s organizational reality 3.4 Conclusion Chapter 4 Country comparison of anti-corruption efforts 4.1 The institutional setup 4.2 The power and scope of the organization 4.3 Definition of corruption: public vs. private 4.4 Mission: prevention or repression of corruption 4.5 Operations: (micro-)reporting from the field or concentration on big issues 4.6 Focus of action: objective vs. subjective measures 4.7 Relationship with transparency 4.8 The anti-corruption plan as an instrument of engagement 4.9 Summary of Part 1 Part II. Broadening the view: adding contextual elements Chapter 5 The social and economic context of the anti-corruption effort 5.1 Italy in the international arena 5.2 The social structure and regional differences 5.3 The structure of public administration 5.4 Public expenditure in detail 5.5 The Anti-corruption Authority’s framework 5.6 Conclusion Chapter 6 Measuring the impact of the anti-corruption effort 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Foregone GDP 6.3 Analysis of legislation 6.4 Academic sources 6.5 Intermediate variables 6.6 Types of corruption Chapter 7 Origin and support of the anti-corruption effort: the stakeholders 7.1 Formal publics 7.2 Informal publics 7.3 The overt critics: magistrates and politicians Chapter 8 Corruption case histories 8.1 An anti-corruption "clinic" 8.2 A large municipality 8.3 An international event 8.4 The Ministry of Public Works 8.5 Conclusion Chapter 9 Joining public and private anti-corruption efforts 9.1 The convergence of reporting instruments 9.2 The convergence of United Nations initiatives 9.3 Finding public–private synergies: a proposal 9.4 Beyond control: management by benchmarking Chapter 10 Conclusions and future studies Chapter 11 Interview with the Italian Anti-corruption Authority president, Raffaele Cantone

Francesco Merloni is a member of the governing body of the Italian Anti-corruption Authority (ANAC). He was a professor of administrative law at the University of Perugia, Italy.