Integrity and Anti-Corruption Policies in Brazil: The Role of the General Comptroller’s Office in the States and Capitals

• Autor(a) principal: De Bona, Rodrigo
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Contabilidade, Gestão e Governança
• Texto Completo: https://revistacgg.org/index.php/contabil/article/view/2551
• topic: Integridad pública; Sistema de Integridad Local; Corrupción; Nuevo Institucionalismo; Isomorfismo Institucional; Integridade Pública; Sistema de Integridade Local; Corrupção; Isomorfismo; Novo Institucionalismo; Public Integrity; Local Integrity System; Corruption; Isomorphism; New Institutionalism

Objective: To analyze how public integrity and anti-corruption policies (PIACPs) and norms are related to the main roles of the general comptroller’s office of the states and capitals of Brazil in the internal anti-corruption cycle. Methodology: We use content analysis and descriptive statistics in a qualitative investigation of a sample of 53 governments, with data collected from documents and official websites. Results: The general comptroller’s office exists in 84.9% (45) of the governments, but most do not have integrity policy (71.7%) or anti-corruption policy (83%). Where these policies exist, the comptroller offices play a central role, following the federal model of integration of the internal anti-corruption cycle in one agency, evidencing processes of institutional isomorphism. Originality/Relevance: There have been some studies about the isomorphism process in subnational comptroller’s offices, but there are practically no studies regarding the existence of public integrity in local Brazilian governments, as well as the role that the local institutions play in these very few policies. Theoretical contributions: From the neo-institutional perespective, this article investigates how isomorphism of the federal model is associated with the existence of anti-corruption instruments on the organizational level. This contributes to a better understanding of what institutions represent in the policy processes of PIACPs in Brazilian governments. Social/management contributions: This study demonstrates that Brazilian subnational governments do not follow international recommendations in terms of public integrity. The coordination of anti-corruption functions within a single effective agency, with autonomy and capacity, can help the efficacy of a PIACP and facilitate its institutionalization.