Does the invisible hand need a transparent glove?

• Main Author: FLORINI, Ann
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2000
• Subjects: Political Science; Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2092; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/3349/viewcontent/does_the_invisible_hand_need_a_transparent_glove__1_.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Transparency is on the rise, touted as the solution to such disparate problems asfinancial volatility, environmental degradation, money laundering, and corruption. Buttransparency faces much opposition, particularly from those under scrutiny. Such actorsoften have strong incentives to avoid providing information. To explain the growingdemand for transparency and to assess its prospects for success requires attention tomatters of politics – that is, power. Power is often needed to induce disclosures orrestructure incentives. And the information thus revealed can shift power from the formerholders of secrets to the newly informed. This paper explores the politics of transparency– why it is emerging, and what are the advantages and difficulties inherent in relying ontransparency to address global issues.