Are international databases on corruption reliable? A comparison of expert opinion surveys and household surveys in sub-Saharan Africa
Abstract
L’émergence des institutions, de la gouvernance et tout particulièrement de la corruption, comme enjeu majeur du développement a engendré la multiplication de bases de données internationales censées mesurer ces concepts. Cette étude s’interroge sur la pertinence et les limites des indicateurs globaux de corruption basés sur la perception des experts. Elle mobilise un dispositif d’enquêtes originales réalisées simultanément dans huit pays africains, couplant deux types d’enquêtes sur la même thématique. Les premières, menées auprès de la population (avec un échantillon de 35 000 personnes au total), permettent d’obtenir une mesure objective de l’incidence et des caractéristiques de la petite corruption bureaucratique. La seconde, menée auprès de 350 experts (enquête-miroir), mesure la perception que s’en font les experts. En confrontant ces deux sources, nous montrons que ces derniers surestiment systématiquement l’incidence de la corruption et que le classement des pays induits par leurs perceptions n’est pas corrélé avec la réalité. L’erreur d’appréciation des experts est d’autant plus forte que les pays sont mal notés dans les bases internationales, pénalisant les plus pauvres d’entre eux. Les analyses économétriques mettent également en évidence la présence de biais idéologiques, ainsi que l’existence d’un modèle culturel implicite, cohérent mais erroné, sur la façon dont « l’Afrique fonctionne ». Les experts ont tendance à surestimer massivement le niveau de tolérance aux pratiques corruptives de la part de la population et à sous-estimer l’importance qu’elle accorde aux questions de « bonne gouvernance ». Ces résultats plaident en faveur d’un usage plus précautionneux et raisonné des indicateurs globaux de gouvernance et confirment la nécessité de les compléter par des enquêtes auprès des acteurs concernés.Download Info
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Paper provided by Université Paris-Dauphine in its series Open Access publications from Université Paris-Dauphine with number urn:hdl:123456789/4352.Length:
Date of creation: 2010
Date of revision:
Publication status: Published in World Development (2010) v.38, p.1057-1069
Handle: RePEc:ner:dauphi:urn:hdl:123456789/4352
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Web page: http://www.dauphine.fr/en/welcome.html
Related research
Keywords: Household surveys; Experts surveys; Subsaharan Africa; Governance; Enquêtes-ménages; Enquêtes-experts; Afrique sub-saharienne; Perception; Gouvernance; Corruption;Find related papers by JEL classification:
- O19 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations
- C42 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Survey Methods
- C89 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Other
- D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
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Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Campos, Nauro F & Dimova, Ralitza & Saleh, Ahmad, 2010.
"Whither Corruption? A Quantitative Survey of the Literature on Corruption and Growth,"
IZA Discussion Papers
5334, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- Campos, Nauro F & Dimova, Ralitza & Saleh, Ahmad, 2010. "Whither Corruption? A Quantitative Survey of the Literature on Corruption and Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 8140, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
- Brown, David S. & Touchton, Michael & Whitford, Andrew, 2011. "Political Polarization as a Constraint on Corruption: A Cross-national Comparison," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 1516-1529, September.
- Campos, Nauro F & Estrin, Saul & Proto, Eugenio, 2010.
"Corruption as a Barrier to Entry: Theory and Evidence,"
IZA Discussion Papers
5243, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
- Campos, Nauro F & Estrin, Saul & Proto, Eugenio, 2010. "Corruption as a Barrier to Entry: Theory and Evidence," CEPR Discussion Papers 8061, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
- Craigwell, Roland & Wright, Allan S, 2011. "Foreign Direct Investment and Corruption in Developing Economies: Evidence form Linear and Non-Linear Panel Causality Tests," MPRA Paper 40933, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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