Corruption, Accountability Reforms, and Democracy in Brazil

Over the past decade, the developmental effects of corruption have assumed a central role for academics and policy practitioners at both the local and national level, as well as within multinational institutions such as regional development banks and the World Bank. Corruption is no longer seen as a potentially beneficial instrument of economic and political development: an ample consensus exists that corruption does not grease the wheels of developing economies but rather creates distortions in policy choices, worsens the investment climate, and reduces overall societal well-being (e.g., Kaufmann, Kraay, and Zoido-Lobaton 1999; Lederman, Loayza, and Soares 2005; Mauro 1995; Rose-Ackerman