bribery in international commercial transactions Aspects of corruption: its roots and consequences Several questions arise in connection with the increased interest in action against corruption at both the national and international levels. n such interest due to the higher occurrence of corrupt practices, higher detection rates or lower levels of (public, official and business) tolerance? The available evidence suggests that the answer may lie in a combination of these explanations. If each of them is examined separately, it will be easier to understand not only the eruption of scandals, but also the explosion of anti-corruption sentiments and how the two can be mutually reinforcing. There are good reasons to believe that in a world of relative turmoil produced by radical changes in the post-cold-war era, there are new opportunities and incentives to engage in corrupt practices. Although characteristics of particular people can be found that make them more prone to misconduct than others, the problem of corruption is a probler of systems and institutions rather than one of individuals. The structural roots of corruption may be examined under four interrelatedbribery in international commercial transactions Aspects of corruption: its roots and consequences Several questions arise in connection with the increased interest in action against corruption at both the national and international levels. In such interest due to the higher occurrence of corrupt practices, higher detection rates or lower levels of (public, official and business) tolerance? The available evidence suggests that the answer may lie in a combination of these explanations. If each of them is examined separately, it will be easier to understand not only the eruption of scandals, but also the explosion of anti-corruption sentiments and how the two can be mutually reinforcing. There are good reasons to believe that in a world of relative turmoil produced by radical changes in the post-cold-war era, there are new opportunities and incentives to engage in corrupt practices. Although characteristics of particular people can be found that make them more prone to misconduct than others, the problem of corruption is a problem of systems and institutions rather than one of individuals. The structural roots of corruption may be examined under four interrelated categories