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Corruption and Democracy in Latin America. Edited by Charles H. Blake and Stephen D. Morris. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009. Pp. 264. $25.95 paper.
The Many Faces of Corruption: Tracking Vulnerabilities at the Sector Level. Edited by J. Edgardo Campos and Sanjay Pradhan. Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2007. Pp. xxxi + 447. $40.00 paper.
Corruption and Development Aid: Confronting the Challenges. By Georg Cremer. Translated by Elisabeth Schuth. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008. Pp. xiv + 169. $19.95 paper.
Corrupt Circles: A History of Unbound Graft in Peru. By Alfonso W. Quiroz. Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Center Press; Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009. Pp. xxii + 514. $30.00 paper.
Political Corruption in Mexico: The Impact of Democratization. By Stephen D. Morris. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2009. Pp. xii + 307. $65.00 cloth.
Corruption is a worldwide phenomenon manifested in many different forms. Whether it appears as a few bills pressed into the hand of a police offi cer, as the awarding of a government contract without competition, or as the abuse of public offi ce by accepting kickbacks or stealing from the treasury, corruption is a fact of life. Its economic consequences are also well known. It discourages investment, distorts trade, and increases costs, which, in turn, slows growth and negatively affects development. Politically, corruption erodes trust in institutions, reduces participation, and undermines legitimacy.
Corruption often seems most pervasive in the places that can least afford it: less developed countries. Although corruption has posed a challenge for Latin America since colonial times, the emergence of democratic regimes in the region since the 1980s has brought demands for greater transparency and accountability. Corruption nevertheless remains a problem. Several Latin American countries rank high on the Corruption Perception Index, published annually by Transparency International.
Once largely ignored by academics or treated in an anecdotal fashion because there was no serious methodology to measure it, corruption has become the subject of much scholarly work as various fi elds recognize its political, economic, and social effects. This interest coincides with the end of cold war, democratization, and economic liberalization. There are also practical reasons as governments, international agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals come to see the fi nancial and human cost not only of corruption...