arXiv subjects

Monica V. Prates

Publications and source records attributed to Monica V. Prates.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Bipartite structure and dynamics of political corruption networks

Political corruption is inherently an affiliation process linking agents to corruption cases; yet it is often studied via one-mode projections that connect co-offenders within the same scandal, implying a loss of information that potentially confounds properties of agents and cases. Here, we adopt a bipartite representation to analyze datasets of corruption scandals in Brazil and Spain spanning nearly three decades. By tracking the temporal growth of these networks, we quantify density and redundancy measures to capture partner reuse and co-occurrence across cases. Networks in both countries become progressively sparser over time, and agent redundancy is systematically higher than case redundancy, indicating a small cadre of recidivists who recombine largely with novice partners rather than forming durable co-offending ties. These networks exhibit near-exponential degree distributions, reflecting low recidivism and likely high coordination costs and secrecy constraints of large-scale scandals. Our bipartite view further reveals a moderate cross-mode disassortative degree mixing between agents and cases, with high-degree agents distributing their activity across small cases and large scandals mainly comprising low-degree participants. Finally, identifying atypical individuals within the bipartite structure reveals criminal trajectories marked by a gradual rise in network embeddedness that can appear ordinary in agent-projected networks.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2026

Evolving spatiotemporal patterns and urban scaling of deaths from external causes

Urban scaling theory posits that urban indicators follow power-law relations with population, yet the evolution of these patterns - and the role of regional differences in settings marked by social inequalities and unplanned urbanization - remains poorly understood. Here, we analyze nearly three decades of mortality data from Brazilian cities to investigate the scaling of external causes of death: homicides, suicides, and accidents. Using a hierarchical Bayesian framework and spatial correlation analysis, we find that these mortality indicators exhibit distinct, regionally heterogeneous scaling trajectories. Homicide mortality has significantly attenuated its typical superlinear scaling with increased spatial clustering, suggesting a redistribution of violence to smaller cities and intensified intercity interactions, possibly linked to the consolidation of organized crime. Suicide mortality, usually sublinear, has trended upward, implying a weakening of urban agglomerations' protective effect. Accident mortality remains superlinear, with transport fatalities scaling nearly proportionally, and non-transport accidents becoming superlinear. The scaling changes for suicides and accidents coincide with less correlated and stable spatial patterns, suggesting that the underlying processes predominantly operate within city boundaries. Finally, while scaling exponents have evolved more homogeneously across Brazilian states, scale-adjusted mortality remains highly heterogeneous, indicating that fundamental processes govern scaling laws, whereas state-specific factors drive scale-adjusted metrics.

physics.soc-ph↗

arXiv2025

Structural roles and gender disparities in corruption networks

Criminal activities are predominantly due to males, with females exhibiting a significantly lower involvement, especially in serious offenses. This pattern extends to organized crime, where females are often perceived as less tolerant to illegal practices. However, the roles of males and females within corruption networks are less understood. Here, we analyze data from political scandals in Brazil and Spain to shed light on gender differences in corruption networks. Our findings reveal that females constitute 10% and 20% of all agents in the Brazilian and Spanish corruption networks, respectively, with these proportions remaining stable over time and across different scandal sizes. Despite this disparity in representation, centrality measures are comparable between genders, except among highly central individuals, for which males are further overrepresented. Additionally, gender has no significant impact on network resilience, whether through random dismantling or targeted attacks on the largest component. Males are more likely to be involved in multiple scandals than females, and scandals predominantly involving females are rare, though these differences are explained by a null network model in which gender is randomly assigned while maintaining gender proportions. Our results further reveal that the underrepresentation of females partially explains gender homophily in network associations, although in the Spanish network, male-to-male connections exceed expectations derived from a null model.

physics.soc-ph↗