In the world of policy wonks, this is bribery week. Today Transparency International publishes its widely watched Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks countries according to experts’ assessments of public-sector graft. Its release comes a day after the OECD launched its first bribery report, based on hundreds of investigations since 1999. Bribery is often considered a sin mostly of the poor world and of rogue employees, but the OECD finds that plenty of officials in rich countries accept backhanders and that company bosses often know all about them. The number of cases has dipped since peaking in 2011. Maybe companies are learning that palm-greasing doesn’t pay: with penalties rising and bribes costing 11% of a transaction’s value, on average, bribery damages bottom lines as well as reputations. The OECD also calls for a crackdown on anonymous shell companies: more than two-thirds of bribes pass through these or other intermediaries.