The generally accepted idea is that corruption is an unethical behavior that breaks legitimate and socially accepted norms, harming social well-being. The aim of this paper is to analyze the evolution and determine the structural relationships between competitiveness, economic growth and corruption perception in a sample of 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries from 2004 to 2017, using correlation and performance analysis. Findings show that there has been a short advance against corruption during this period. Although most of the countries increased their competitive score, GDP growth decreased considerably. Mixed evidence appeared on the correlation between corruption, competitiveness and economic growth.
