Why has the OECD, along with other members of the international community, mobilised to fight corruption? The answer is simple: corruption respects no borders, knows no economic distinctions and infects all forms of government. In the long run, no country can afford the social, political or economic costs that corruption entails. The OECD takes a multidisciplinary approach in fighting corruption.

Not only does the Organisation address the supply of bribes with the 1997 Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Transactions and its 1996 recommendations against tax deductibility of bribes.

It has also taken steps to address the demand side of the problem through the adoption of the 1998 Recommendation on Improving Ethical Conduct in the Public Service.

Since the entry into force in 1999 of the Anti-Bribery Convention, the work on bribery in national export credit systems accelerated, culminating in the December 2000 Action Statement on Bribery and Officially Supported Export Credits.

The OECD also assists non-member countries in improving their governance and anti-bribery standards through a number of outreach activities in the Anti-Corruption Division and the Public Management Service as well as the work of the OECD Development Centre.