Institutions and corruption relationship: Evidence from African countries

Abstract

This study considers the combined effects of formal (i.e., national governance) and informal (i.e., national culture) institutions on corruption based on a sample of 52 African countries over the 2007–2022 period. Employing institutional theory, our findings are three-fold. First, we find weak formal institutions (i.e., national governance systems) to be associated with higher levels of corruption. Second, regarding the effects of informal institutions (i.e., national culture) on the level of corruption, our results suggest that high power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and collectivism are associated with higher levels of corruption. However, masculinity has a negative and significant influence on the level of corruption in Africa. Finally, our main results indicate that the joint effect of formal (national governance) and informal (national culture) institutions tends to be associated with a high incidence of corruption at societal level.