![handle is hein.journals/crmlsc63 and id is 1 raw text is: Crime Law Soc Change (2015) 63:1-20
DOI 10.1007/s10611-014-9549-z
Can't control/won't control: opportunities and deterrents
for local urban corruption in Lanzarote
M6nica Garcia-Quesada - Fernando Jimenez - Manuel Villoria
Published online: 29 November 2014
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014
Abstract Lanzarote is the most eastern island of the Canary archipelago (Spain). An
important touristic resort, it was a pioneer territory in the fight against land speculation
and was distinguished as a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1993. Despite this, recent
police and court investigations have shown the existence of illegalities and corruption
in the granting of building licenses in two of the most touristic municipalities, Yaiza
and Teguise. The article examines the opportunities for urban corruption and the
deterrents in place at the local level in Lanzarote between 1998 and 2006. It shows
that corruption derived not only from an inadequate formal incentive structure, but also
from the prevalence of certain expectations contrary to the common good and from the
absence of principled principals willing to ensure that agents acting on their behalf
did not engage in corruption.
Introduction
Between December 1995 and December 2007, over 6.5 million new housing units1
were built on Spanish soil. More than 600,000 building licenses were issued each year
in 2003, in 2005 and in 2007, and over an extraordinary 865,000 in 2006. During this
period, a significant share of Spain's economic growth was based on the construction
sector, fuelled by low interest rates, access to private debt and a new legislative
framework that, from 1997, eased the requirements to make new land available for
construction [1, 2]. This building boom in Spain has been considered to be closely
linked to the spread of urban speculation and corruption at the local level [3-10].
1A housing unit refers to a house, an apartment, a room or group of rooms that is occupied (or if vacant, is
intended for occupancy) as separate living quarters.
M. Garcia-Quesada (E)
Free University of Brussels (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
e-mail: monicagq@gmail.com
F. Jimenez
University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
M. Villoria
King Juan Carlos University Madrid, Madrid, Spain
4L Springer](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/crmlsc63&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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