Corruption and the Lava Jato scandal in Latin America

Cover -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of illustrations -- List of contributors -- Acknowledgments -- Foreword -- Part I: An introduction to Lava Jato -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- Introduction -- From scandal to scandal -- Petrobras, the prize -- The impact of the Lava Jato scandal -- The structure of the book -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 2: Lava Jato in perspective -- Introduction -- Setting the stage -- Economic recession -- Lava Jato -- Bringing political economy up to date -- Post-2020 Brazilian development: will Bolsonaro save the day? -- Final words -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 3: Competing to be corrupt: the multinational dynamics of public procurement bribery in Latin America -- Introduction -- Theories of corruption as a business strategy -- Choosing the proper measure -- Statistical analysis of Odebrecht's multinational choices -- Policy and research implications -- For future research -- Appendix -- Notes -- References -- Part II: Brazil's experience with Lava Jato -- Chapter 4: Urban planning legacies and corruption: evidence from the Rio Olympic Games and Lava Jato -- 2016 Olympic Games and corruption scandals: why they matter -- The 2016 Olympic Games: victories and defeats for Rio's urban planning -- Lava Jato and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games -- Mega-events and corruption scandals: a pattern -- Lessons for accountability and transparency -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 5: Captured media? Examining Brazilian coverage of Lava Jato -- Introduction -- Journalism as a check on corruption: the theory -- Does reporting on corruption affect voter preferences? -- Media capture and the case of Brazil -- Studies on Brazilian media coverage of Lava Jato -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References.

"Corruption and the Lava Jato Scandal in Latin America brings together key international and interdisciplinary perspectives to shine new light on Lava Jato, or Operation Car Wash, Latin America's largest corruption scandal to date. Since 2014, this scandal has unfolded in surprising ways to expose collusion between construction companies and state officials in Brazil and 11 other countries. The corruption uncovered amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes and billions of dollars in stolen state funds. The volume features evidence that the main construction company at the center of the scandal was apparently deliberate about seeking business in corrupt markets. It also evaluates the ambiguous role played by the media, whose members often relied uncritically on classified information released by the authorities. The volume further contributes to our understanding with studies on a number of other relevant topics, including: the overlap between corruption and the planning of the Rio Olympics; Mexico and Peru's contrasting responses to Lava Jato; the policy reforms needed to avoid a similar scandal in the future; and the roadmap for how Lava Jato should end. Across fifteen chapters by leading and emerging scholars and practitioners, this book engages with these issues from a balanced and unbiased perspective, including interviews with key stakeholders on both sides of the case. As one of the first book-length studies to deal with Lava Jato in the English language, this ground-breaking volume is a compelling reading for advanced students and researchers in areas including Corruption Studies, Public Ethics, Political Science and Latin American Studies, as well as for practitioners working to make governments more accountable."--