Bribing to Escape Poverty in Africa

Abstract

This study assesses the nexus between bribery and poverty using the Afrobarometer survey. Our data cover 38 countries consisting of three survey rounds and a sample of 151,345 individuals. The empirical strategy is based on multi-level mixed-effects ordered logit regression. The results reveal that while poverty has a positive effect on the spread of bribery, inflation can mitigate the impact. The impact is stronger for people living without basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care. In other words, the results indicate that the impact of poverty on bribery becomes negative when inflation increases. Policy implications are discussed.