Why Do Some Africans Pay Bribes While Other Africans Don’t?

Tools

Peiffer, Caryn and Rose, Richard (2014) Why Do Some Africans Pay Bribes While Other Africans Don’t? Preprint / Working Paper. Afrobarometer.

[thumbnail of Peiffer-Rose-Afrobarometer-148-Why-do-some-Africans-pay-bribes-while-other]
Preview
 Text. Filename: Peiffer_Rose_Afrobarometer_148_Why_do_some_Africans_pay_bribes_while_other.pdf
Final Published Version
Download (1MB)| Preview

Abstract

Generalizations about African societies being pervasively corrupt are refuted in this innovative paper. Among 25,397 Afrobarometer respondents in 18 countries, 26% report paying a bribe, while 74% do not. Five hypotheses offer explanations: institutional context, inequalities of socio-economic resources, social inclusion and exclusion, social and political capital, and conflicting norms. Multilevel statistical analysis identifies as most important: contextual differences in colonial legacies, ethnic politicization, service provision, press freedom, and having social or political capital. The analysis emphasizes studying behavior rather than perceptions of corruption and supports a public-policy focus on bribery as an exchange for specific public services.

ORCID iDs

Peiffer, Caryn and Rose, Richard ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5117-5271;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)