Transparency in Portuguese: Corruption and poverty in Portuguese-speaking Africa

This communication aims to discuss the relation between corruption and poverty in Portuguese-speaking Africa. How do these indicators behave in the Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP)? Is there something special to these cases? In spite of the abundance of literature that indicate the complex relation between these two variables, it seems appropriate to use the comparative method to deepen our understanding of this question.  We argue that the process of decolonization and independence, associated to colonial heritage (both cultural and institutional), perform a decisive role on the explanation of corruption and of poverty.

Thus, this investigation will, trough the confrontation of the Portuguese-speaking, the French-speaking and, the English-speaking African countries, test the following hypotheses: the evolution of each paths of decolonization; the role of foreign aid for development; the importance of colonial heritage; the dynamics of political and economical relations with the former colonizers; the urban structure and network; natural resources; the specific characteristics of the elites; ethnic fragmentation of civil society. We wish to explore the impact of these variables in relation with transparency and poverty, wanting to grasp a better understanding of these two phenomena.