Arbeitspapier
Exposing corrupt politicians: the effects of Brazil's publicly released audits on electoral outcomes
This paper examines whether access to information enhances political accountability. Based upon the results of Brazil's recent anti-corruption program that randomly audits municipal expenditures of federally-transferred funds, it estimates the effects of the disclosure of local government corruption practices upon the re-election success of incumbent mayors. Comparing municipalities audited before and after the elections, we show that the audit policy reduced the incumbent's likelihood of re-election by approximately 20 percent, and was more pronounced in municipalities with radio stations. These findings highlight the value of information and the role of the media in reducing informational asymmetries in the political process.
- Language
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Englisch
- Bibliographic citation
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Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 2836
- Classification
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Wirtschaft
- Subject
-
Korruption
Gemeindefinanzen
Öffentliche Finanzkontrolle
Informationsverhalten
Wahlverhalten
Brasilien
- Event
-
Geistige Schöpfung
- (who)
-
Ferraz, Claudio
Finan, Frederico
- Event
-
Veröffentlichung
- (who)
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Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
- (where)
-
Bonn
- (when)
-
2007
- Handle
- URN
-
urn:nbn:de:101:1-2008032753
- Last update
-
10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET
Data provider
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.
Object type
- Arbeitspapier
Associated
- Ferraz, Claudio
- Finan, Frederico
- Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
Time of origin
- 2007