Quo Vadis? Career paths of Brazilian regulators

• Published in: Regulation & governance Vol. 16; no. 2; pp. 470 - 486
• Main Authors: Peci, Alketa, Menezes Santos, Aline, Pino Oliveira de Araújo, Bruno César
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melbourne John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 01-04-2022; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: board members; Careers; independent regulatory agencies; Markets; Political institutions; Private sector; regulators; Regulatory agencies; revolving door
• ISSN: 1748-5983; 1748-5991
• DOI: 10.1111/rego.12348

Research about professional trajectories of regulators highlights the exchange of personnel from independent regulatory agencies (IRAs) to the private sector, mainly based on US evidence. However, current studies indicate that revolving doors in different contexts may share more nuances, reflecting the role of different political institutions. Here we rely on sequence analysis to explore the trajectories of 117 Brazilian board members of IRAs, investigating: What are their typical professional trajectories? Which career path receives most of the benefits in postterm positions? The analysis uncovers five clusters of career paths in which most regulators do not transition between the public and private sectors but still benefit in direct and indirect ways from serving terms in IRAs. A different mix of market/bureaucratic/political incentives plays a role in the patterns of professional trajectories we uncover in Brazil. Depending on the context, regulators' trajectories might be driven by either market or state forces.