ABSTRACT
The silence was equally pervas ive in the policy world. For a variety of reasons includ ing reluct ance to bring their own programmes into disrep ute and a sense that corrup tion was a nuis ance factor (or even helpful) rather than a major concern, few aid and devel op ment organ isa tions devoted any discus sion to it. Research funding was virtu ally non-exist ent: whether out of a wish to avoid contro versy or fears that serious study of corrup tion might threaten some of their own support ers, few found a tions and research spon sors took propos als for corrup tion projects seri ously. That reti cence, argu ably, persists to this day.
