Just saying no

摘要

"Corruption" was once a word that the World Bank did not use. Its staff spoke instead of "implicit taxes" or "rent-seeking behaviour" lest they be accused of meddling in politics. A decade ago James Wolfensohn, then the Bank's president, broke the taboo with a speech about the "cancer of corruption" and began a campaign to improve poor countries' governance. His successor, Paul Wolfowitz, has gone even further. Battling graft is his top priority.