Cross-Country Variations of Public Bribery in Africa

Abstract

Corruption in Africa undermines development and access to public services. This study investigates variations in the prevalence of bribery and associated factors across African countries. This study analyzed the eighth round of the Afrobarometer survey dataset with a sample of over 40,000 respondents across 34 African countries. The study found that 68.2% of Africans reported paying a bribe to public service officials. This figure ranges from 17.7% of respondents who paid bribes for public school services to 35.7% for police assistance. Thirty percent of Africans have paid bribes for choice institutions compared to 61% for monopoly institutions. Liberia recorded the highest prevalence of bribery for school services (47.1%) and medical care (59.3%). Cameroonians paid the most bribes for identity documents (52.3%), while Nigeria recorded the highest for bribery for police assistance (80.4%). Gender, age, education, poverty and political participation/activism were significant predictors of different forms of bribery, but their associations vary across countries. The study suggests that bribery occurs more often in monopoly institutions where the people have no alternatives. In addition, variations in the factors associated bribery indicates cross-country diversity and the need to region or country-specific policy interventions to reduce the bribery in public services in Africa.