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Gender and corruption in business

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  • Breen, Michael
  • Gillanders, Robert
  • McNulty, Gemma
  • Suzuki, Akisato

Abstract

Are women less corrupt in business? We revisit this question using firm-level data from the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys, which measure firms’ experience of corruption and the gender of their owners and top managers. We find that women in positions of influence are associated with less corruption: female-owned businesses pay less in bribes and corruption is seen as less of an obstacle in companies where women are represented in top management. By providing evidence that women are, ethically at least, good for business our research contributes to the literature on development, gender equality, and corruption more generally.

Suggested Citation

  • Breen, Michael & Gillanders, Robert & McNulty, Gemma & Suzuki, Akisato, 2015. "Gender and corruption in business," MPRA Paper 63850, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:63850
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    2. Yi, Jingtao & Teng, Da & Meng, Shuang, 2018. "Foreign ownership and bribery: Agency and institutional perspectives," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 34-45.
    3. Binhadab, Nouf & Breen, Michael & Gillanders, Robert, 2021. "Press freedom and corruption in business-state interactions," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 45(4).
    4. Azra Khan & Sadia Safdar & Nazima Elahi, 2021. "An Evaluation Of The Impact Of Corruption On Tax Morale And Taxation In Pakistan," Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 10(3), pages 259-272.
    5. Pier Luigi Marchini & Tatiana Mazza & Alice Medioli, 2020. "Corruption and sustainable development: The impact on income shifting in European international groups," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 717-730, March.
    6. Wellalage, Nirosha Hewa & Fernandez, Viviana & Thrikawala, Sujani, 2020. "Corruption and innovation in private firms: Does gender matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    7. Nhat Minh Tran & Thu Thuy Nguyen & Thi Phuong Linh Nguyen & Anh Trong Vu & Thi Thanh Hoa Phan & Thi Hong Tham Nguyen & Ngoc Diep Do & Anh Tuan Phan, 2022. "Female Managers and Corruption in SMEs: A Comparison Between Family and Nonfamily SMEs in Vietnam," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.
    8. Charles Ackah & Holger Goerg & Aoife Hanley & Cecília Hornok, 2020. "Why are Africa’s female entrepreneurs not playing the export game? Evidence from Ghana," Discussion Papers 2020-19, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    9. Olayinka Oyekola & Martha A. Omolo & Olapeju C. Ogunmokun, 2023. "Are majority-female-owned firms more susceptible to bribery solicitations?," Discussion Papers 2311, University of Exeter, Department of Economics.
    10. Chen, Shihua & Chen, Yulin & Jebran, Khalil, 2023. "Beyond the glass ceiling: Informal gender-based status hierarchy and corporate misconduct," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    11. Lin, Ying & Yin, Hua-Tang & Wen, Jun & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2024. "Assessing the impact of religion on environmental quality," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 48(1).
    12. Wang, Nannan & Cui, Dengfeng & Dong, Yin, 2023. "Study on the impact of business environment on private enterprises' technological innovation from the perspective of transaction cost," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 2(1).
    13. Michael Breen & Robert Gillanders & Caroline McMullan, 2024. "Corruption, homelessness and disasters," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(1), pages 70-83, January.
    14. George R. G. Clarke, 2021. "How Do Women Managers Avoid Paying Bribes?," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-18, February.
    15. Houxue Xia & Qingmei Tan & Junhong Bai, 2018. "Corruption and Technological Innovation in Private Small-Medium Scale Companies: Does Female Top Management Play a Role?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-18, June.
    16. Corinna Claus & Ekkehard A. Köhler & Tim Krieger, 2022. "Can Moral Reminders Curb Corruption? Evidence from an Online Classroom Experiment," CESifo Working Paper Series 9670, CESifo.
    17. 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.
    18. Binhadab, Nouf & Breen, Michael & Gillanders, Robert, 2018. "The Role of a Free Press in Combating Business Corruption," MPRA Paper 88954, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Sun, Sunny Li & Ding, Zhujun & Joseph, George, 2023. "Expanding Inclusive Markets through Corruption Control: A Multilevel Modeling Analysis for a Grand Challenge," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(6).
    20. Detkova, Polina & Tkachenko, Andrey & Yakovlev, Andrei, 2021. "Gender heterogeneity of bureaucrats in attitude to corruption: Evidence from list experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 217-233.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    corruption; bribery; gender; firm ownership; top management; corporate governance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

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