Corruption and the composition of governmental expenditure: evidence from Controladoria-Geral da União's Public Random Drawing Inspection Program

Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between corruption and the composition of governmental expenditure in Brazilian municipalities. Previous studies using data for countries show that corruption distorts the allocation of public resources, which increases expenditure on national defense and decreases expenditure on health and education. Using a measure of corruption derived from Controladoria-Geral da União's reports, results of OLS estimates indicate that a different phenomenon occurs in Brazilian municipalities. A positive and significant relationship between corruption and expenditure on education and health is found. This phenomenon is primarily a consequence of the discretionary power of municipal expenditure and federal laws, which require minimum expenditures on education and health as a percentage of revenue for municipalities.