How well do governments comply with their own transparency statutes? Alarmingly, answers to this question are in short supply because of patchy comparative data. This study begins to address this gap by analyzing an exhaustive compilation of 265 transparency compliance evaluations (i.e. audits) authored by NGOs, academics, and government oversight authorities across Latin America between 2003 and 2018. Aggregating data on patterns of evaluation and public sector compliance with transparency statutes, we find modest increases in compliance over time, strikingly low compliance with passive transparency compliance (i.e. governmental responses to citizen requests) at the local versus national levels of government, and significantly higher compliance scores when government oversight agencies act as evaluators. Our data also reveal worrying gaps in evaluation efforts. Evaluators tend to focus far more on active transparency (i.e. website-based disclosure) than passive transparency, more on national level governments than subnational governments, and preponderantly on the executive as opposed to legislative or judicial branches of government. Textual analyses show that education is the most evaluated policy theme, with financial policies and social services close behind. In presenting the first large-scale cross-national assessment of transparency compliance, the current study brings to light trends in the effectiveness of transparency regimes and patterns of transparency evaluation across Latin America.

政府如何遵守自己的透明度法规？令人震惊的是，由于比较数据不完整，该问题的答案短缺。这项研究通过分析2003年至2018年间由拉丁美洲各地的非政府组织，学者和政府监督机构撰写的265项透明性合规性评估（即审计）的详尽汇编，开始着手解决这一差距。透明度法规，我们发现随着时间的流逝，合规性会适度增加，地方与国家级政府对被动透明性合规性（即政府对公民要求的回应）的合规性显着降低，并且当政府监督机构充当评估者时，合规性得分显着提高。我们的数据还显示出评估工作中令人担忧的差距。评估者倾向于将重点更多地放在主动透明度（即基于网站的披露）上，而不是被动透明度上，而不是地方政府，更多地关注国家级政府，而不是立法或司法部门。文本分析表明，教育是最受评估的政策主题，紧随其后的是金融政策和社会服务。在介绍首次对透明性合规性的大规模跨国评估时，当前的研究揭示了整个拉丁美洲的透明性制度的有效性和透明性评估模式的趋势。在国家级政府中，比在地方政府中更多，而在行政机构中则相对于政府的立法或司法部门更多。文本分析表明，教育是最受评估的政策主题，紧随其后的是金融政策和社会服务。在介绍首次对透明性合规性的大规模跨国评估时，当前的研究揭示了整个拉丁美洲的透明性制度的有效性和透明性评估模式的趋势。在国家级政府中，比在地方政府中更多，而在行政机构中则相对于政府的立法或司法部门更多。文本分析表明，教育是最受评估的政策主题，紧随其后的是金融政策和社会服务。在介绍首次对透明性合规性的大规模跨国评估时，当前的研究揭示了整个拉丁美洲的透明性制度的有效性和透明性评估模式的趋势。