Trust in Government: Ethics Measures in OECD Countries

Public service is a public trust. Citizens expect public servants to serve the public interest with fairness and to manage public resources properly on a daily basis. Fair and reliable public services inspire public trust and create a favorable environment for businesses, thus contributing to well-functioning markets and economic growth. Public ethics are a prerequisite to public trust and are a keystone of good governance. At a time when there is a growing consensus among governments on what should constitute the essential elements of an effective and comprehensive ethics strategy, this OECD report constitutes a unique source of comparative information on ethics management measures in OECD countries. It is designed to facilitate mutual learning and to support the development of modern ethics strategies in both OECD and non-member countries, by providing, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of ethics measures in all 29 OECD countries, including overall trends and promising practices.