6533b836fe1ef96bd12a1c81

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Networks to State Capture: Business Elite Networks and Mechanisms of Corporate State Capture in Central American Countries

subject

description

This paper aims to find out what configuration of business elite networks enables corporate state capture. To achieve this goal, it first uncovers and analyses business elite networks through interlocking directorates in three Central American countries using network analysis, and second, analyses the relationship between business elite networks and the mechanisms that enable corporations to capture states: namely revolving doors and the funding of political parties in the 2014 elections. Findings indicate that when some of the business elites configure a large and cohesive networked business community, while the rest is fragmented, corporate state capture is more likely to occur, as in the case of Panama.