Effectiveness of Ethics Codes in the Public Sphere: Are They Useful in Controlling Corruption?

Abstract

This study aims at determining the real effect of the implementation of a code of ethics on the solution of ethical problems in the public sphere, considering corruption as the most important non-ethical behavior. With that aim, 154 national administrations whose information on ethical codes is available on the UN's website are analyzed.

Our findings stress the absence of any influence of codes on corruption problems in the public context, both in developed and developing countries. The level of education is the most important determining factor in the control of corruption, especially in developing countries.

Keywords:

• ethics codes
• corruption
• civil service
• education
• national administration

Notes

¹For instance, ENRON, which made three different and parallel sets of accounts, required their employees to agree to and sign a four-page code of ethics on their first day in the firm (Hemingway & Maclagan, 2004, p. 35).