Corruption In Sub-Saharan Africa Research Articles

Do the sector-orientation and the origin of foreign direct investment explain types of corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa?

This paper focuses on analysing the effects of sector orientation and the origin of FDI on the types of corruption. The GMM technique and the IV-2SLS on a panel of Sub-Saharan African countries were used. Globally, we find that FDI increases political corruption in SSA. Moreover, the study shows that sector orientation and the origin of FDI have significant effects on each type of corruption. Primary sector FDI enhances public sector corruption and reduces judicial corruption. Secondary sector FDI increases executive, public, and judicial corruption. In the tertiary sector, executive and public corruption are enhanced while judiciary corruption is reduced. Regarding the origin, FDI from France increases public sector corruption whereas FDI from China and the USA reduces it. Executive corruption is reduced by FDI, regardless of its origin. FDI from France and the USA discourages judiciary corruption while FDI from China increases it. FDI from China reduces legislative corruption, while FDI from the USA tends to increase it. Furthermore, the analysis of the transmission channels shows education and development levels as important channels through which FDI could reduce corruption in SSA. Relevant policy implications derived from this study include the necessity for policy-makers to combat all types of corruption and mostly public corruption.

Re-examining the curse of natural resources in SSA: New evidence from disaggregated natural resources and types of corruption

Understanding how corruption affects the relationship between natural resources and growth has profound implications for sustainable development goals in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study investigates the nexus between natural resources, economic growth, and corruption in SSA from 1985 to 2022, by employing a Panel Smooth Transition Regression model. Results indicate that corruption distorts natural resources and lowers economic growth. The magnitude of the effect of corruption depends on the type of corruption. The impact of political corruption is more relevant than the others form of corruption. In a low corruption regime, mineral, oil, and forest resources do not affect growth; (b) in a high corruption regime, oil and forest resources hinder growth whereas mineral resources lead to higher economic growth. The analysis highlights the need for policy measures that encourage sustainable economic development and promoting reinforcement of institutional quality.

‘[T]he prince and the judge ask for a bribe’ (Mi 7:3): Interpreting the Old Testament prophets on bribery in light of the encounter between motorists and law enforcement agents on Nigerian highways

Transparency International has consistently reported a high level of corruption in sub-Saharan Africa, of which bribery is the commonest aspect. In Nigeria, bribery has been found to be an integral part of the public life of most public officials. This article related the message of the 8th-century prophets of Israel to the Nigerian context in which motorists are forced to pay bribes to law enforcement agents on the highways, and attempted to exonerate the motorists from bribery. The work employed the historical exegesis for the study of the relevant texts, and the descriptive approach for the analysis of bribery on Nigerian highways. The work found that the central context of the 8th-century prophets’ criticism of bribery was in the judicial process in which the court officials took bribes from the rich and denied justice to the poor. The message of the prophets is thus relevant to the current situation of the poor Nigerian motorists. It concluded that given the fact that the police, in particular, forcefully take money from the motorists, it is better described as extortion rather than bribery. In view of the helpless circumstances faced by the motorists, it is unlikely that the prophets would have accused them of bribery, but they certainly would have condemned the law enforcement agents for extortion. Therefore, given their situation, Nigerian motorists being extorted on the highways are not guilty of bribery.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This research involves the disciplines of the Old Testament (OT) and Christian ethics. It relates the message of the OT prophets to the Nigerian context in which motorists are forced to give bribes to the law enforcement agents. The article postulates that the motorists are absolved of bribery, given the manner by which money is extorted from them.

Foreign Direct Investment & Petty Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Empirical Analysis at the Local Level

Inspired by a recent and ongoing debate about whether foreign direct investment (FDI) represents a blessing for or an impediment to economic, social, and political development in FDI host countries this paper addresses two issues: Does the presence of foreign investors impact the occurrence of petty corruption? If so, what are the main underlying mechanisms? Geocoding an original firm-level dataset and combining it with georeferenced household survey data, this is a first attempt to analyse whether the presence of foreign investors is associated with changes in local corruption around foreign-owned production facilities in 19 Sub-Saharan African countries. Applying an estimation strategy that explores the spatial and temporal variation in the data, we find strong and consistent evidence that the presence of foreign firms increases bribery among people living nearby. When examining two potential channels, we find no clear support that FDI-induced economic activity leads to more corruption. In contrast, the results provide evidence that FDI affects corruption via norm transmission.

Determinants of Corruption: The Case of Sub-Saharan Africa

Corruption has been an epidemic in Africa since the age of colonization. The average level of corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa has been on the rise since. The results support the theory of self-reinforcing corruption in the sense that past corruption levels become an important determinant of current corruption levels due to strategic complementarity. The gap between more corrupt and less corrupt countries stays the same as more corrupt countries turning into more corrupt and less corrupt countries turning into less corrupt, demonstrating that corruption is pervasive in Sub-Saharan Africa. For the institutional determinants, we found that increase in political stability, better regulatory quality and higher level of democracy decreases the level of corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa. For the economic determinants, we found that a higher level of development and higher trade integration decreases the level of corruption and higher government expenditure and higher level of natural resources increases the level of corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa. For the socio demographic determinants, we found that higher level of infrastructure decreases the level of corruption while higher share of women in labor force, higher level of population and higher level of urbanization increases corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Mitigating Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does Heterogeneity in Corruption Levels Matter?

In line with Africa’s Agenda 2063 goal 12 of improving governance and building accountable institutions, this article contributes to the literature by examining corruption determinants using survey data from the Afrobarometer. Quantile regression estimates across 31 sub-Saharan African countries show that the effects of the determinants of corruption are heterogeneous across the quantiles. We observe that press freedom, parliamentary oversight, and human development have a reducing effect on corruption, whereas government size, ethnic fractionalization, and bureaucratic quality appear to exert a significant positive effect on corruption. Given the heterogeneity in findings, the “one size fits all” strategy in fighting corruption could be inadequate in mitigating corruption in SSA.

The Heterogeneous Effects of Government Size and Press Freedom on Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa: Method of Moment Quantile Regression Approach

Although an active body of literature exists on the relationship between government size and corruption, different findings proliferate the literature due to the nuances of geographical context, methods, and variables employed. The paper employs the novel method of moment quantile regression with fixed effects over the period 1984–2018 to investigate the dynamic impact of government size and press freedom on corruption in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. The main contribution is to examine the impact of government size and press freedom across the conditional distribution of corruption in SSA. The findings show that the impacts of government size and press freedom are heterogeneous across the conditional quantile distribution of corruption. Among the most corrupt countries in SSA, larger government size and press freedom significantly increase corruption. Some policy recommendations are offered based on these findings.

The nexus between records management and perceived corruption in sub-Saharan Africa

PurposeThis paper aims to chronicle perceived corruption cases emanating from poor records management in selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa by examining the nexus between records management and perceived corruption in Africa.Design/methodology/approachUsing a content analysis approach, based on auditor’s report and detailed analysis of available literature, this study examines the nexus between records management and perceived corruption in Africa.FindingsIt observed that government agencies can easily be corrupted by inefficiencies in records management. However, a clear commitment to records management, underpinned by transparency and accountability, ensures that public office holders can be held accountable for their actions. Free and unhampered access to information promotes transparency in the administration of public funds and public participation.Research limitations/implicationsThe study selected only 14 African countries for the study to establish the nexus between corruption and records management. Further studies are needed to cover all the countries in Africa.Practical implicationsThe paper contributes to the ongoing debate that effective records management is crucially important in the prevention of corruption. It does this at a time when most African countries have made commitments towards the 17 goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development goals of the UN. The implementation of these goals can effectively be achieved in an environment where there is an effective records management system to ensure that public officers have access to information in the delivery of their duties.Originality/valueThe paper is written at a time when most African countries have made commitments towards the 17 goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development goals of the UN.

Do Dutch NGOS Care About Corruption in SSA?

One may expect that most Dutch NGOs operate in countries with low corruption. This thesis is the first empirical study to find out whether Dutch NGOs have operations in countries with low corruption or countries with high corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using Corruption Perception Index and Control of Corruption Scores, most Dutch NGOs are operating in a country with high corruption in the region of Sub-Saharan Africa. In general, Dutch NGOs provide no significant pattern that they are favoring countries with low corruption. When operating in a country with high corruption, it is recommended that NGOs create a project design that take into account of bribery risk, training and support for staff. NGOs also recommended to cooperate with corporation or other NGOs. By cooperating with other NGOs, the risk from high corruption country can be shared and NGO coordination would be strengthened.

Impact of Government Expenditure on Economic Growth In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Validity of Wagner’s Law

The study investigated the impact of government expenditure on economic growth with special inclination to testing the Wagner’s law in Sub Saharan Africa between 1986 and 2018. Adopting the Panel first generation tests as well as the Panel Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) and Pairwise Causality techniques, it was revealed that government expenditure causes economic growth rendering the Wagner’s law is invalid in the Sub-Saharan region. Also, it was further discovered that capital and recurrent expenditure exert negative effect on economic growth while total expenditure has positive effect on economic growth in the region. Therefore, based on the negativity of capital and recurrent expenditure, it is recommended that capital and recurrent expenditure must be monitored effectively to ensure that its increase will not exert any negative effect on economic growth while stringent measures as well as checks and balances must be adopted to curb corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa to ensure that funds are used exclusively for their intended purposes especially those pertaining to capital projects.

Can private media contribute to fighting political corruption in sub-Saharan Africa? Lessons from Ghana

In sub-Saharan Africa, the private media are often considered corrupt and thus incapable of performing critical watchdog functions. Using the Ghanaian case, the objective of this study is to examine how the private media contribute to exposing political corruption and demanding accountability. Based on the media-as-a-watchdog theory and on primary and secondary data, this article argues that private media outlets make significant contributions to the fight against political corruption. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were used to collect primary data in Ghana. Relevant secondary data from media reports and scholarly work supplement the primary data. The research findings show that Ghanaian private media address political corruption through investigative reporting, agenda-setting, providing a forum for anti-corruption discussions, and acting as a pressure group for institutional and legal reforms as well as political accountability. This article thus questions the popular claim that in sub-Saharan Africa, the private media cannot contribute meaningfully to combatting corruption involving influential political actors. Policy and future research implications are presented in the conclusions.

RESOURCE CURSE AND EITI MEMBERSHIP EFFECT ON THE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND CORRUPTION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: PART II - AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

This study is the second and concluding part of the study that feature in volume 5(1) of this journal. It examines the impact of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) membership on Economic Growth and corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A pooled cross-sectional panel study on 46 countries in SSA from 1996 to 2016 was employed. The results show that EITI membership and its statistical interaction with resource dependence have a moderately positive effect on reducing the resource curse on implementing countries by increasing GDP per capita. However, the results do not indicate any significant reduction in the level of corruption associated with governance in the region through EITI membership. The research concludes that the EITI has potential value and should continue to be used as a mechanism to increase transparency in the resource-curse economy. The implementation period for most member countries is, however, still in its infancy and it will be possible to assess the more success of the EITI membership with the passage of time.

RESOURCE CURSE AND THE EITI MEMBERSHIP EFFECT ON THE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND CORRUPTION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: PART I - A THEORETICAL REVIEW

This study reviews the theoretical literature concerning the resource curse as it pertains to the impact of natural resources upon economic growth and corruption in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and how the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) membership can be of help. The EITI is an international standard promoting open and transparent resource governance through disclosure mechanisms in the resource value chain. Corruption has been associated with less-than-average economic growth in resource-rich countries. This research concludes that the theoretical review found that through the dissemination of disclosures in the natural resource sector, the EITI can potentially reduce the prevalence of corruption in implementing countries in SSA and it can address negative economic growth outcomes associated with resource abundance. However, there is not much evidence empirically needed to suggest this.

Why is bribery pervasive among firms in sub-Saharan African countries? Multi-industry empirical evidence of organizational isomorphism

Motivated by the prevalence and persistence of corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) despite high-profile anti-corruption efforts, and by calls for more research on unethical organizational behavior by firms in Africa, we investigated the link between bribery in 12 SSA countries and the phenomenon of organizational isomorphism, long used to explain legitimate, but rarely, illegitimate firm practices. Analysis of 5989 SSA firms in three distinct industries known for high levels of bribery reveals direct positive relationships between bribery and its perception as frequently practiced in specific industries (“mimetic isomorphic effect”); institutional constraints on businesses (“coercive isomorphic effect”); and local market rivalry (“competitive isomorphic effect”). Institutional coercion is the strongest determinant of bribery, while imitation and competitive rivalry routinize the practice. However, the effect of isomorphic pressures on bribery practices varies across industries. Therefore, institutional redesigns, policy remediations and managerial actions to mitigate bribery must consider the cross-industry variations.

Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa - An Impediment to Economic Growth

Sub-Saharan Africa is faced with many challenges. It is a region bulging with resources but cursed with incredible political and economic greed. With a vast ethnic diversity and an often misconstrued cultural lifestyle, which puts the region on the marginalization line. From a historical context, the impact of colonialism has haplessly set the environment for low leadership standards. The background setting for Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic underdevelopment is uninhibited corruption that exists within Sub-Saharan African societies. This institutional corruption takes a triangular cause - cultural, economic and political; each, together with so many other factors threaten Sub-Saharan Africa’s socio-economic development.

Anticorruption Strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from Experience and Ingredients of a Successful Strategy

ABSTRACTThe effects of corruption on economic development have been extensively examined. There is overwhelming evidence that corruption is detrimental to economic progress. This, in turn, has provided the rationale to combat corruption. With the insistence of international development partners, many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have put in place anticorruption strategies to fight corruption. This paper looks at the strategies adopted by some Sub-Saharan African countries to combat corruption with a view to identifying the strengths and weaknesses. Based on the successes or failures of the strategies in the cases examined, the elements that constitute a successful anticorruption strategy are identified. Of the ingredients of anticorruption strategy examined in the paper, the political will to fight corruption appears to be the overriding factor in mounting a successful anticorruption campaign. Besides identifying the necessary factors for a successful anticorruption strategy, the paper also serves as an update on the state of corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa and the literature on the causes of corruption.

Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution? MNEs, FDI, and the Cycle of Corruption in Africa

Corruption is a persistent and pervasive concern worldwide, leading to lower levels of economic growth, the erosion of political and legal institutions, and decreased foreign and domestic investment. Yet, many questions remain about the role that multinational enterprises (MNEs) play in exacerbating or mitigating corruption. We address such questions by examining corruption in sub-Saharan Africa, a context with increasing levels of economic growth and foreign investment, but varying levels of success in addressing corruption. We generate new insights with respect to the nature of corruption itself, causes of corruption, consequences of corruption, and how corruption can be fought. We find that rather than corruption being an inherently unavoidable ‘cost of doing business’ in developing countries, the attributes of FDI and actions of MNEs play a significant role in influencing whether corrupt activities are enabled or curbed in a host country.

FDI, democracy and corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper investigates the relationship between FDI, democracy and corruption among 30 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the period of 1985–2014 to determine whether the ‘helping hand’ or ‘grabbing hand’ hypothesis is most applicable. The results of GMM analysis show that corruption is used by FDI investors to overcome the region’s weak democratic regulatory and institutional status and thus the ‘helping hand’ is more prevalent. However, the results further show that as democratic capital accumulates, this association may outlive its usefulness and thus corruption as a ‘helping hand’ in time becomes a ‘grabbing hand’ instead. These results imply that SSA countries should focus on integrating into the international economy so as to take advantage of existing financial enforcement legislation while reconstructing and strengthening domestic constitutional anti-corruption legislation and institutions.

Corruption in sub-Saharan Africa’s established and simulated democracies: the cases of Ghana, Nigeria and South Sudan

This article makes a contribution to the debate over the interconnectedness between democratization, corruption and resource dependence by way of a qualitative analysis of three African states, Ghana, Nigeria and South Sudan, in various stages of democratization, from post-conflict transition to increasingly consolidated democracies. The underlying question guiding the analysis is to assess how both the practice and perception of corruption change in the course of democratization. Using survey data, secondary literature and empirical observations, the article juxtaposes empirical findings with theories of the African state and finds neo-patrimonialism and the concept of the gatekeeper state the most satisfactory explanatory models for the sources and types of corruption in African democracies afflicted by the resource curse.

The Mobile Phone Revolution: Have Mobile Phones and the Internet Reduced Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Summary There is a growing consensus that information and communication technology (ICT) systems (here mobile phones and the internet) offer remarkable opportunities for promoting good governance, increasing transparency, and reducing corruption. Thus, many development practitioners, policy makers, and various international organizations who are committed to promoting transparency and good governance have embraced the view that mobile phones can be used as a social accountability tool in the fight against corruption. This study empirically investigates the impact of mobile phone penetration, internet adoption, and the interaction effect between the two on corruption, by focusing specifically on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The results reveal that cell phones are powerful tools for reducing corruption. Results of panel Granger causality tests show that there is unidirectional causality from mobile phone penetration to corruption, and from internet adoption to corruption. To deal with the problem of endogeneity, a dynamic panel data (DPD) model is employed.