Making sense of health corruption in times of COVID-19

Autores/as

Palabras clave:

corruption, health, institutions, rent-seeking, political entrepreneurship

Resumen

This paper provides readers with an analytical framework to better understand the rationality of corruption and its perpetuation in the health sector during the coronavirus pandemics. To pursue the foregoing task, it embarks on integrating insights from New Institutional Economics, Public Choice Theory, and the Austrian School of Economics to come up with an explanation of corrupt deals that uncover their causally relevant mechanisms. Its goal is to shed light on corruption risks that emerge from changes in legislation that weakened public procurement rules and therefore turned the Brazilian health system more vulnerable to corrupt acts. The article conjectures that increased uncertainty, asymmetric information, and decreased transparency channels have played major roles in triggering corrupt practices, such as bribery, kickback, embezzlement, influence peddling, and cronyism. More precisely, it argues that rent-seeking and predatory political entrepreneurship are two driving forces behind Brazilian corrupt exchanges and their risks in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. It offers some evidence that corruption scandals in Rio de Janeiro state make a very good case for showing the explanatory value of the proposed theoretical approach. It closes by wrapping up the overall argument, presenting some policy implications and questions for further research.

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Biografía del autor/a

Roberta Muramatsu, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, SP - Brazil

PhD in Economics and Philosophy. Master of Economics at University of São Paulo. Bachelor of Economics, University of São Paulo. Adjunct Professor of Economics and Researcher of Mackenzie Center for Economic Freedom.

Paulo Rogério Scarano, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, São Paulo, SP - Brazil

Doctor of Social Science,  Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. Master of Economics , Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. Bachelor of Economics, Mackenzie Presbyterian University. Assistant Professor of Economics and Researcher of Mackenzie Center for Economic Freedom.

Caroline Cipolla Bertan, Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, Bonn, NRW - Germany

Master of Economics, Federal University of São Carlos. Bachelor of Economics, Mackenzie Presbyterian University. Specialist (Sachbearbeiter) at the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, Germany.

Citas

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Publicado

2021-09-21

Cómo citar

Muramatsu, R., Scarano, P. R., & Cipolla Bertan, C. . (2021). Making sense of health corruption in times of COVID-19. Revista Do Serviço Público, 72(a), 86 - 109. Recuperado a partir de https://revista.enap.gov.br/index.php/RSP/article/view/5715

Número

Sección

Special on Public Choice: Essays in Honor of Jorge Vianna Monteiro (closed)