ABSTRACT
This chapter applies the analytical framework of global pressure and bureaucratic change developed by Welch and Wong (1998, 2001) in comparative studies of Japan, Hong Kong, and China to explain the divergent responses of national bureaucracies under the global pressure of bureaucratic corruption. It examines some complex interrelations between key concepts of global pressure including corruption, accountability, and institutional change in bureaucracy. The major research questions guiding the investigation in this chapter are: Why is it still so diffi cult to fi ght corruption although anti-corruption knowledge and technologies are already widely accessible? How do differences in anti-corruption outcomes refl ect the characteristics and nature of a national bureaucracy, particularly its role in the national context and the mode of accountability for holding it responsible?
