Thirty Years of Studies on Transparency, Accountability, and Corruption in the Public Sector: The State of the Art and Opportunities for Future Research

Abstract

This study was carried out from 1984 to 2013 in the context of governance, with a view to analyzing the discussions on transparency, accountability, and corruption in the public sector in professional journals. It aims to present the state of affairs in the literature in the field, the lessons learned by researchers who have addressed the issue, as well as an agenda for future research. To conduct the research, of an exploratory and descriptive nature, a structured process of literature review was developed inspired by previous studies, bringing about a sample of 63 articles. The results showed that there has been an increase in research interest on transparency, accountability, and corruption, particularly from the period in which the issue of public sector governance gains strength. It is argued that the fight against corruption and its relation to accountability and transparency in the public sector is not configured as a purely technical issue, but involves the government’s relationship with society and a need for greater citizen participation in the control of the actions of public actors.

Keywords:

• accountability
• corruption
• public governance
• public sector
• transparency