Consistency in the declaration of assets of candidates in the brazilian elections: fiction or reality?

Abstract Candidates data in the Brazilian elections of 2010, 2012 and 2014 were compared with information regarding the population in general. A total of 486,832 applications were analyzed. The candidates presented higher age and level of schooling than the Brazilian population in general. As previous research positively correlates age and level of schooling with assets, it can be assumed that the candidates would have greater assets, on average, than the general population. The study showed that candidates had more residencies and vehicles than the general population. However, the percentage of candidates who had bank assets was very low compared to the population. The results point out that a portion of the candidates’ assets is not correctly declared, which creates a serious problem in the principal-agent relationship.

摘要：本研究对2010年、2012年及2014年巴西大选的候选人数据与巴西普通民众的相关信息进行了对比分析，共计分析486832份候选人申报材料。研究发现，参选候选人的平均年龄与受教育程度均显著高于巴西普通民众。鉴于既往研究证实年龄与受教育程度均与个人资产规模呈正相关，因此可合理推测，参选候选人的平均个人资产将高于普通民众。此外，研究显示参选候选人拥有的房产与机动车数量均多于普通民众，但相较普通民众，拥有银行类资产的候选人占比却极低。研究结果表明，部分候选人未如实申报个人资产，这一问题会在委托代理（principal-agent）关系中引发严重的合规问题。