When the IMF and the World Bank decided to act, they had ready allies in Parliament, the media, and the public. Until recent years, it was the bribe takers around the world who had a good many allies. Even a few economists managed to find a benefit in corruption. In Ukraine, the transition from communism to a free-market economy has been plagued by graft. Numerous bureaucrats may need to sign off on just one issue in a complicated business-permit process.
Some businessmen spend a month on applications only to be told that they used wrong-colored ink.
Jacob Yampel, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., describes a health inspector's call on his pasta factory in Ukraine. But of what and for how much I'll decide in a few minutes. Quantifying the cost of graft is difficult. But economists have concluded that bribes act like a tax on an investment or a transaction. Many executives never know when they have given the last bribe needed to get a job done.