Corruption and Economic Growth in Africa

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2019-08-23

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en

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Within the existing literature on corruption and economic growth, there are two contrasting viewpoints. On one side, there are scholars arguing that corruption is a heavy constraint on economic growth, especially in developing countries, where corruption often runs rampant. On the other other side, there are scholars arguing that in a second-best world, where weak institutions and inefficient bureaucracy constitute a major impediment to economic growth, corruption might actually act as a trouble-saving device, improving efficiency and increasing economic growth. This thesis uses four different empirical models, estimated using data from 46 African countries, to show that between 2000 and 2017, corruption was negatively associated with economic growth within Africa. This implies that there is a strong negative correlation between corruption and economic growth and that countries that are more corrupt, tend to grow slower than countries that are less corrupt. Furthermore, the data shows that this effect is weaker in poorer countries.

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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen