Islands of Good Government: Explaining Successful Corruption Control in Two Spanish Cities

Abstract

Between 2012 and 2018, Spanish public opinion has been shaken by a seemingly endless series of corruption scandals, to the point that corruption has become one of the main long-term concerns of the Spanish population, according to nation-wide surveys. Despite the sharp rise in corruption scandals within local authorities, there are Spanish cities that have managed to limit corruption and build a transparent and efficient government, which stand out as islands of integrity and good governance. This article qualitatively investigates two cities in Spain—Alcobendas and Sant Cugat del Vallès—which, despite being in a region with comparatively lower quality of government, have managed to successfully control corruption. We argue that the key to success is the administrative reorganization prompted by the appointment of city managers that institutionalized professional management. Findings also have implications for practitioners, meaning that complex anti-corruption legislative frameworks will not work within an overburdened administration unless the administrative structure is reformed.

Modeling Political Corruption in Spain

“…Finally, increasing funding for open government initiatives [105], building capacity toward strategic planning and performance evaluation [106], rather than investing in entities of doubtful nature like non-profit organizations and/or public companies [107], plus devoting more funds to the judicial system (district attorneys and judges) [108], and information technology for open innovation [109] are recommended.…”

Corrupción en las contrataciones públicas: investigaciones recientes y tendencias de investigación

“…Su aporte contribuye al debate a partir de la evidencia de la relación entre el compromiso institucional y la transparencia. ciudades (Drápalová y Di Mascio, 2020). Es decir, la importancia no solo de los arreglos institucionales, la transparencia y la capacidad de predicción, sino a la calidad de la administración pública para controlar la corrupción (Villanueva, 2020) En Indonesia la descentralización y las elecciones directas de jefes locales son oportunidades para que las elites ganen y amplíen su poder mediante el establecimiento de sus familias políticas, como precursora de una dinastía política.…”

Corruption Control in the Developed World

“…Two articles directly address this side of corruption control. Drápalová and Di Mascio (2020) detail how the institutionalization of city managers may drastically improve the quality of municipal governments despite their belonging to regions otherwise affected by widespread corruption and not significantly differing from other, similarly structured surrounding municipalities. They attribute this rather extraordinary result to the professional aspirations of the city managers and to their sensitivity to contextual features of governance.…”