But the oath-taking MBAs' pledges to avoid corruption, to represent the performance and risks of their firm accurately, to educate themselves continuously and to allow their peers to hold them to account are all meaningful and can be monitored, says Mr Khurana.

ECONOMIST: A Hippocratic oath for managers

Mr Thaksin has been living in self-imposed exile in order to avoid a prison term for corruption in his homeland.

ECONOMIST: Thailand��s l��se-majest�� laws

The former prime minister, ousted in a coup in 2006, has been living in exile since 2008 to avoid going to prison for corruption on charges that he has always claimed were politically motivated.

ECONOMIST: Thailand��s politics

Authorities were eager to move the case into one of those courts, which are designed to avoid the delays, incompetence and corruption that plague much of India's legal system.

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As Siemens half-heartedly clamped down on corruption, managers took ever more eccentric steps to avoid getting caught.

ECONOMIST: The Siemens scandal

It must have low transaction costs, avoid significant income transfers among countries, be practically invulnerable to fraud and corruption and lend itself to easy verification of compliance.

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