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Effect of the size of government spending on corruption in sub-saharan african countries

Author

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  • Abdoulaye Dramane

    (Faculty of Economics and Management - University of Parakou)

Abstract

Previous work on the effect of the size of government spending on corruption has led to mixed results. In order to explain those ambiguous results, this paper aims to analysing the effect of the size of government spending on corruption in african countries by considering three indicators, namely government final consumption expenditure, public health expenditure and military expenditure. Using annual data on a panel of thirty nine african countries over the period 2000 - 2017, the results show that government final consumption expenditure and public health expenditure have a negative effect on the level of corruption, and that military expenditure leads to an increase in corruption. In addition, the identification of transmission channels for the effects of the size of government spending on corruption was highlighted. As robustness and to address endogeneity problems, we conduct the instrumental variables estimation and the results reveal that our main findings are robust. The study suggests intensifying the fight against corruption by strengthening the quality of institutions and improving the functioning of the judicial system.

Suggested Citation

  • Abdoulaye Dramane, 2021. "Effect of the size of government spending on corruption in sub-saharan african countries," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 41(1), pages 167-181.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-20-00521
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Africa; Corruption; Panel data; Size of government spending;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O5 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies
    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government

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