Seminars
20. 11. 2007

Wednesday, November 28, 2007, 9am-3:20pm at the American Center of the United States Embassy in Prague

Corruption is one of the most serious problems facing the Czech Republic and other democracies around the world. Corruption not only has a negative impact on economic performance and democratic governance, but also on the entire social fabric. Yet policies and proposals aimed at effectively fighting corruption are often divorced from academic scholarship, such as new research on the causes of corruption, its measurement, and its relationship to other social phenomena like trust and inequality. Without the contributions of research, poorly designed anti-corruption policies could lead to false hopes and the failure to address the sources of the problem. That’s why it is so important to bring academics and policy-makers into active dialogue.

In order to learn from new trends in corruption research, you are cordially invited to take part in a seminar entitled New Trends in Corruption Research: What Can Research Contribute to Anticorruption Policy? The purpose of the seminar is to create a forum in which leading experts can present the state-of-the-art in the field of corruption research, and where we can share ideas and promote best practices in the area of anti-corruption policy. The seminar is co-organised by the Institute for Social and Economic Analyses (ISEA), the American Center of the U.S. Embassy, and the Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The seminar will take place at the American Center on November 28, 9am-3:20 pm.

The speakers in the seminar include Czech and international scholars, NGO representatives, and policy specialists. The seminar would be relevant for private and public sector leaders, for NGOs, for media representatives, for students and academics, and many others.

Each presentation will last 20-30 minutes, followed by a discussion that will include questions and answers from conference participants. Interpretation between Czech and English will be provided during the seminar.

Since the space is limited, please register to attend the seminar as soon as possible. Kindly submit your RSVP to Blanka Javorová, Phone: +420 222 220 678, email: blanka.javorova@isea-cz.org, Cell: +420 723 436 201

 

Confirmed participants:

Fredrik Galtung, Chief Executive of Tiri, London
Jan Hanousek, Senior Researcher and Professor, CERGE-EI, Prague
Petr Mateju, Professor of Sociology, Institute of Sociology, Prague
David Ondracka, Project Manager, Transparency International, Czech Republic
Michael Smith, Researcher, Institute of Sociology and ISEA
Antonín Švach, Head of the Analysis Department, Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic
Eric Uslaner, Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland-College Park

 

Program

8:30 – 9:00 Registration

9:00 – 9:10 Welcome
Richard W. Graber, Ambassador, US Embassy, Prague

 

9:10 – 9:15 Introductory Remarks
Michael Smith, ISEA and the Institute of Sociology, Prague

 

9:15 – 9:45 Building Public Integrity as an Anti-corruption Strategy
Fredrik Galtung, Tiri
9:45 – 10:00 Discussion

 

10:00 – 10:30 Trust and Corruption in Transition
Eric Uslaner, University of Maryland-College Park
10:30 – 10:45 Discussion

 

10:45 – 11:00 Coffee break

 

11:00 – 11:30 Explaining Corruption Perceptions and Experience in the Czech Republic: What Can We Learn for Anti-Corruption Policy?
Michael Smith, Petr Mateju and Petr Soukup, ISEA and the Institute of
Sociology, Prague

11:30 – 11:45 Discussion

 

11:45 – 12:45 Lunch and Press Conference

 

12:45 – 13:15 Tax Evasion and the Second Economy in the Czech Republic: Trends and Policy Responses
Jan Hanousek, CERGE-EI
13:15 – 13:30 Discussion

 

13:30 – 13:45 Conflict of Interest and Anti-corruption Policy in the Czech Republic
Antonín Švach, Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic
13:45 – 14:00 Discussion

 

14:00 – 14:20 Remarks on the Direction of Czech Anti-Corruption Policy
David Ondracka, Transparency International, Czech Republic
14:20 – 15:20 Discussion and Conclusions

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