Checks and Balances, Political Competition, and Public Goods in the Brazilian States

Abstract

In this chapter, we explore empirically some of the claims made in previous chapters with an important innovation: we look at the subnational—the state level—rather than the national level. Specifically, we consider the impact of political competition and checks on the executive, on developmental outcomes, and on corruption in the Brazilian states. Do checks on governors matter? To anticipate our conclusions: Yes, constrained governors govern better than unchecked ones. Because data on subnational coalitions and about coalition management strategies (such as distribution of state governments’ portfolios) are unavailable or incomplete at best, we focus the analysis on exploring empirically how distinct patterns of political competition and checks and balances engender incentives for the state executive (governors) to govern their states efficiently and adroitly.