IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/empeco/v66y2024i1d10.1007_s00181-023-02456-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Bribery, regulation and firm performance: evidence from a threshold model

Author

Listed:
  • Chaoyi Chen

    (MNB Institute, John von Neumann University
    Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary))

  • Mehmet Pinar

    (Edge Hill University
    Universidad de Sevilla)

  • Thanasis Stengos

    (University of Guelph)

Abstract

Firm-level bribery and regulation are two of the many determinants of firm performance. However, most of the existing studies examine the direct and linear effects of bribery and regulation and overlook their indirect effects. Using firm-level data, covering 20,343 firms in 78 developing countries, and employing a threshold model, the effects of firm performance’s standard determinants vary based on the bribery and regulation levels. Our findings reveal that the impact of bribery and regulation on firm performance varies significantly depending on corruption and regulation levels. Access to external finance improves firm performance if and only if the firms are exposed to bribes and firm-level regulation is below a given threshold. Furthermore, exports boost the performance of the firms that are exposed to more bribery and spend more time with regulation than those that face lower levels of regulation and bribery. While bribery harms firm performance, our findings reveal that spending time with regulation could improve firm performance if firms are exposed to low levels of bribery. Our findings confirm the ‘sand the wheels’ hypothesis and limiting firm-level bribery improves firm performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Chaoyi Chen & Mehmet Pinar & Thanasis Stengos, 2024. "Bribery, regulation and firm performance: evidence from a threshold model," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 66(1), pages 405-430, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:66:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s00181-023-02456-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-023-02456-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00181-023-02456-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00181-023-02456-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Çağatay Bircan & Orkun Saka, 2021. "Lending Cycles and Real Outcomes: Costs of Political Misalignment," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(639), pages 2763-2796.
    2. Christopher J. Boudreaux & Boris N. Nikolaev & Randall G. Holcombe, 2018. "Corruption and destructive entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 181-202, June.
    3. Kourtellos, Andros & Stengos, Thanasis & Tan, Chih Ming, 2016. "Structural Threshold Regression," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 32(4), pages 827-860, August.
    4. Gründler, Klaus & Potrafke, Niklas, 2019. "Corruption and economic growth: New empirical evidence," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    5. Seo, Myung Hwan & Shin, Yongcheol, 2016. "Dynamic panels with threshold effect and endogeneity," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 195(2), pages 169-186.
    6. Axel Dreher & Martin Gassebner, 2013. "Greasing the wheels? The impact of regulations and corruption on firm entry," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 155(3), pages 413-432, June.
    7. Staniewski, Marcin W., 2016. "The contribution of business experience and knowledge to successful entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 5147-5152.
    8. Demir, Firat & Hu, Chenghao & Liu, Junyi & Shen, Hewei, 2022. "Local corruption, total factor productivity and firm heterogeneity: Empirical evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    9. Abdoulaye Seck, 2020. "Heterogeneous Bribe Payments and Firms’ Performance in Developing Countries," Journal of African Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 42-61, January.
    10. Mo, Pak Hung, 2001. "Corruption and Economic Growth," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 66-79, March.
    11. Ruohan Wu, 2019. "Firm Development and Bribery: An Empirical Study from Latin America," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 47(1), pages 53-64, March.
    12. Méon, Pierre-Guillaume & Weill, Laurent, 2010. "Is Corruption an Efficient Grease?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 244-259, March.
    13. Qi, Guoyou & Zou, Hailiang & Xie, Xuemei & Meng, Xiaohua & Fan, Tijun & Cao, Yuanhe, 2020. "Obedience or escape: Examining the contingency influences of corruption on firm exports," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 261-272.
    14. Nur-tegin, Kanybek & Jakee, Keith, 2020. "Does corruption grease or sand the wheels of development? New results based on disaggregated data," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 19-30.
    15. Colin C. Williams & Abbi M. Kedir, 2016. "The Impacts Of Corruption On Firm Performance: Some Lessons From 40 African Countries," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(04), pages 1-18, December.
    16. Mohammad Amin & Yew Chong Soh, 2022. "Financial constraints and the impact of corruption on employment growth," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(3), pages 612-635, April.
    17. Jan Weiss & Andreas Stephan & Tatiana Anisimova, 2019. "Well-designed environmental regulation and firm performance: Swedish evidence on the Porter hypothesis and the effect of regulatory time strategies," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 62(2), pages 342-363, January.
    18. Spyridon Boikos & Mehmet Pinar & Thanasis Stengos, 2023. "Bribery, on-the-job training, and firm performance," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 37-58, January.
    19. Aart Kraay & Peter Murrell, 2016. "Misunderestimating Corruption," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 98(3), pages 455-466, July.
    20. Truong Thi Hoa, 2020. "The effects of corruption on human capital accumulation process: Evidence from Vietnam," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 69-88, January.
    21. Ronald U. Mendoza & Ricardo A. Lim & Anne Ong Lopez, 2015. "Grease or Sand in the Wheels of Commerce? Firm Level Evidence on Corruption and SMES," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(4), pages 415-439, 05-27.
    22. Bruce E. Hansen, 2000. "Sample Splitting and Threshold Estimation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 68(3), pages 575-604, May.
    23. Fisman, Raymond & Svensson, Jakob, 2007. "Are corruption and taxation really harmful to growth? Firm level evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 63-75, May.
    24. Feldmann, Horst, 2017. "Economic freedom and human capital investment," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(2), pages 421-445, June.
    25. Tchorzewska, K.B. & Garcia-Quevedo, J. & Martinez-Ros, E., 2022. "The heterogeneous effects of environmental taxation on green technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(7).
    26. Johann Graf Lambsdorff, 2003. "How Corruption Affects Productivity," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(4), pages 457-474, November.
    27. Isaac Ehrlich & Francis T. Lui, 1999. "Bureaucratic Corruption and Endogenous Economic Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(S6), pages 270-293, December.
    28. Şeker, Murat & Yang, Judy S., 2014. "Bribery solicitations and firm performance in the Latin America and Caribbean region," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 246-264.
    29. Emilia Peni, 2014. "CEO and Chairperson characteristics and firm performance," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 18(1), pages 185-205, February.
    30. Cieślik, Andrzej & Goczek, Łukasz, 2018. "Control of corruption, international investment, and economic growth – Evidence from panel data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 323-335.
    31. Lui, Francis T, 1985. "An Equilibrium Queuing Model of Bribery," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 93(4), pages 760-781, August.
    32. Jiang, Ting & Nie, Huihua, 2014. "The stained China miracle: Corruption, regulation, and firm performance," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 123(3), pages 366-369.
    33. Hasan Faruq & Michael Webb & David Yi, 2013. "Corruption, Bureaucracy and Firm Productivity in A frica," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(1), pages 117-129, February.
    34. Paolo Mauro, 1995. "Corruption and Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(3), pages 681-712.
    35. Bircan, Çağatay & Saka, Orkun, 2021. "Lending cycles and real outcomes: costs of political misalignment," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115214, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    36. Vial, Virginie & Hanoteau, Julien, 2010. "Corruption, Manufacturing Plant Growth, and the Asian Paradox: Indonesian Evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 693-705, May.
    37. Bircan, Çağatay & Saka, Orkun, 2021. "Lending cycles and real outcomes: costs of political misalignment," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118902, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    38. Reinikka, Ritva & Svensson, Jakob, 2006. "Using Micro-Surveys to Measure and Explain Corruption," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 359-370, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Spyridon Boikos & Mehmet Pinar & Thanasis Stengos, 2023. "Bribery, on-the-job training, and firm performance," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 37-58, January.
    2. Lurdes Martins & Jorge Cerdeira & Aurora A.C. Teixeira, 2020. "Does corruption boost or harm firms’ performance in developing and emerging economies? A firm‐level study," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(8), pages 2119-2152, August.
    3. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake & Ajantha Sisira Kumara & Asankha Pallegedara, 2023. "The nexus between public sector corruption and private sector efficiency: Evidence from worldwide firm‐level data," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 1056-1077, May.
    4. Faris Alshubiri & Syed Ahsan Jamil & Samia Fekir, 2024. "Corruption Control, Government Effectiveness and Banking Stability: Does Corruption Grease or Sand the Wheels?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 2656-2681, March.
    5. Lee, Mina & Mutlu, Canan & Lee, Seung-Hyun, 2023. "Bribery and Firm Growth: Sensemaking in CEE and Post-Soviet Countries," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(1).
    6. Uberti, Luca J., 2022. "Corruption and growth: Historical evidence, 1790–2010," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 321-349.
    7. Maria Kravtsova & Aleksey Oshchepkov, 2019. "Market And Network Corruption," HSE Working papers WP BRP 209/EC/2019, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    8. Nhan Buu Phan & Shino Takayama, 2023. "A Model of Corruption and Heterogeneous Productivity: A Theoretical Approach," Discussion Papers Series 660, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    9. Malkina, M. & Ovchinnikov, V., 2020. "Influence of regulatory burden and involvement of business in corruption on revenue: Grease vs sand effect," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 47(3), pages 40-65.
    10. Fhima, Fredj & Nouira, Ridha & Sekkat, Khalid, 2023. "How does corruption affect sustainable development? A threshold non-linear analysis," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 505-523.
    11. Tran, Viet T. & Walle, Yabibal M. & Herwartz, Helmut, 2020. "The impact of local financial development on firm growth in Vietnam: Does the level of corruption matter?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    12. Priya, Pragati & Sharma, Chandan, 2023. "Reinforcing the effects of corruption and financial constraints on firm performance: Normal versus crisis period in developing economies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    13. Chen, Minghua & Jeon, Bang Nam & Wang, Rui & Wu, Ji, 2015. "Corruption and bank risk-taking: Evidence from emerging economies," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 122-148.
    14. Krifa-Schneider, Hadjila & Matei, Iuliana & Sattar, Abdul, 2022. "FDI, corruption and financial development around the world: A panel non-linear approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    15. Hung Quang Doan & Nam Hoang Vu & Binh Tran-Nam & Ngoc-Anh Nguyen, 2022. "Effects of tax administration corruption on innovation inputs and outputs: evidence from small and medium sized enterprises in Vietnam," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 1773-1800, April.
    16. Barra, Cristian & Papaccio, Anna & Ruggiero, Nazzareno, 2024. "The interaction between corruption, bank cost efficiency and economic development in Italy," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 48(3).
    17. Cai, Weixing & Hu, Feng & Xu, Fangming & Zheng, Liyi, 2022. "Anti-corruption campaign and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PA).
    18. Dwiputri, Inayati Nuraini & Arsyad, Lincolin & Pradiptyo, Rimawan, 2018. "The corruption-income inequality trap: A study of Asian countries," Economics Discussion Papers 2018-81, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    19. Kouramoudou Kéïta & Hannu Laurila, 2021. "Corruption and Tax Burden: What Is the Joint Effect on Total Factor Productivity?," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-16, March.
    20. Méon, Pierre-Guillaume & Weill, Laurent, 2010. "Is Corruption an Efficient Grease?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 244-259, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:66:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s00181-023-02456-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.