Risk of Corruption in Public Procurement in Portuguese Municipalities. How is It Related to Politics, Gender of the Mayor, and Socioeconomic Municipalities Characteristics?

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the risk of corruption within public procurement processes for public works contracts at the municipal level in Portugal. Employing a quantitative methodology previously validated in some countries, corruption risk within municipal public procurement was estimated for Portuguese municipalities and an attempt was made to determine the extent to which it is related to various political elements that characterize the municipal executive board, such as the number of mandates, the status of the incumbent, decision-making in election years and other political issues. Additionally, relationships between the corruption risk and some socio-economic and demographic factors, such as the level of education (human capital), purchasing power (economic capital) and gender of the mayor were examined. Findings reveal that in public procurement at the local level, the risk of corruption implicit in public tenders is not related to maintaining political power over several terms of office and other political issues, such as the moment of elections. It is also found that the risk of corruption in public procurement is not associated with the gender of the mayor. Findings should be interpreted with caution due to challenges in adapting the methodology for Portugal, as well as the few female mayors.