National development banks and their legal mechanisms of accountability: a case study of the BNDES

• Grant number: 15/03548-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): December 01, 2015
• Effective date (End): November 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Law - Theory of Law
• Principal Investigator: Camila Villard Duran
• Grantee: Daniel Fideles Steinberg
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Direito (FD). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

National development banks are key financial institutions for economic and social development in many countries. In the legal literature, it is possible to identify a gap in the scientific literature on the subject, especially with regard to public control, monitoring, evaluation and accountability of these institutions.This paper aims to reflect on the accountability of national development banks, using the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) as a case study. It starts with the following questions: (i) Are there any legal mechanisms to force accountability on BNDES ?; (ii) How these mechanisms are structured and how they operate ?; (iii) What effects have generated?; (iv) What are the determinants institutional events that explain the causality of these results? Reflection on these issues enables to reflect, inserted into a broad research agenda, the role of law in the structuring of public financial accountability institutions.The methodology to be implemented refers to the thinking of other social science disciplines, through the use of rules of descriptive and causal inferences. Based on an empirical-descriptive methodological framework, the objective is to investigate (document analysis, "soft law", empirical data and legislative process) the structure, the effects of causality and accountability arrangements on BNDES.The initial hypothesis is that although there are transparency tools (active / passive) in BNDES, they are not necessarily being converted into effective accountability - Obligation of the project evaluation cycle; and their corresponding accountability. Therefore, the institutionalisation of legal accountability rules BNDES could favor solidification of a pact among political, economic agents and society, with respect to (i) rationale for funding decisions (document published on the evaluation cycle, approval and contracting of projects) and (ii) responsiveness (responsiveness) with regards to the financing structure (monitoring and ex post control of the financing of projects approved by the Bank - accounting control), which involves the legal structure of accountability for choices policies. These two characteristics of a structure perceived as accountable aims at creating a financing schedule for the development of different industrial sectors (game-changing policies), as a measure to promote inclusive economic development. (AU)