Local Governance and Corruption of a Country in the Process of Joining the European Union

Using data from a survey of mayors in Romania, this study analyzes some of the causes of corruption within a local public administration system of a country that joined the European Union structures as of January 1, 2007. The analysis is directly connected to the ongoing processes of decentralization and democratization. A logistic regression model was used to explain the mayors’ perception of the influence of corruption in the reform process within local public administration structures, as well as the identification of the major causes of corruption.