Corruption, property rights and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18559/rielf.2024.1.1634

Keywords:

corruption, property rights, economic growth, Africa

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this article is to analyze the relationship between corruption, property rights and economic growth in sub-Saharan African countries.

Design/methodology/approach: The model used in this work is inspired by Aziz and Asadullah (2016) and Walid and Kais (2019), whose theoretical basis is the Cobb-Douglas production function, which includes two major components, namely labor and capital and other institutional factors. Thus, the analysis of the interaction between property rights, corruption and economic growth is carried out using a panel VAR model.

Findings: The results show that corruption has a positive effect on economic growth while economic growth has no effect on corruption. Property rights promote economic growth while economic growth does not help protect property rights. Corruption has a negative effect on property rights while property rights have no effect on corruption.

Originality/value: The originality lies in the analysis of the ambiguous role of corruption in relation to property rights and economic growth on the scale of many African countries.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abdoulaye, D. (2021). Effect of the size of government spending on corruption in sub-Saharan African countries. Economics Bulletin, 41(1), 167–181.
View in Google Scholar

Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S., & Robinson, J. (2001). The colonial origins of comparative development: An empirical investigation. American Economic Review, 91, 1369–1401. Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S., & Robinson, J. (2002). Reversal of fortune: Geography and institutions in the making of the modern world income distribution. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107(2), 1231–1294.
View in Google Scholar

Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S., Robinson, A. J., & Yared, P. (2005). From education to democracy? The American Economic Review, 95, 44–49.
View in Google Scholar

Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. (2008). The role of institutions in growth and development. Working Paper, 10. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank. On behalf of the Commission on Growth and Development.
View in Google Scholar

Alesina, A., & Weder, B. (2002). Do corrupt governments receive less foreign aid? American Economic Review, 92(4), 1126–1137.
View in Google Scholar

Alesina, A., Özler, S., Roubini, N., & Swagel, P. (1996). Political instability and economic growth. Journal of Economic Growth, 1(2), 189–211.
View in Google Scholar

Andrés, R., & Goel, K. (2011). Corruption and software piracy: A comparative perspective. Policy & Internet, 3, 1–22.
View in Google Scholar

Aziz, M. N., & Asadullah, M. N. (2016). Military spending, armed conflict and economic growth in developing countries in the postcold war era. CREDIT Research Paper, 16/03. The University of Nottingham, Centre for Research in Economic Development and International Trade (CREDIT). https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/162744
View in Google Scholar

Barro, R. J., & Lee, J. W. (1994, June). Sources of economic growth. Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, pp. 1–46.
View in Google Scholar

Besley, T. (1995). Property rights and investment incentives: Theory and evidence from Ghana. Journal of Political Economy, 103(5), 903–937.
View in Google Scholar

Besley, T., & Ghatak, M. (2009). Property rights and economic development. In D. Rodrik & M. Rosenzweig (Eds.), Handbook of development economics (pp. 4525–4595). Elsevier. Boldrin, M., & Levine, D. (2009). Against intellectual monopoly. Cambridge University Press.
View in Google Scholar

Brunetti, A., & Weder, B. (1998). Investment and institutional uncertainty: A comparative study of different uncertainty measures. Review of World Economics, 134, 513–533.
View in Google Scholar

Cancio, G. A. (2007). The demand for graft: How property rights influence political corruption.
View in Google Scholar

Center for Systemic Peace. (2022). Base de données des indicateurs de démocratie. https://www.systemicpeace.org/polityproject.html
View in Google Scholar

Cieślik, A., & Goczek, L. (2018a). Control of corruption, international investment, and economic growth—Evidence from panel data. World Development, 103, 323–335.
View in Google Scholar

Coase, R. H. (1959). The federal communication committee. Journal of Law and Economics, 2, 1–59.
View in Google Scholar

Colombatto, E. (2003). Why is corruption tolerated? Review of Austrian Economics, 164, 363–379.
View in Google Scholar

D’Agostino, G., Dunne, J. P., & Pieroni, L. (2016a). Corruption and growth in Africa. European Journal of Political Economy, 43, 71–88.
View in Google Scholar

D’Agostino, G., Dunne, J. P., & Pieroni, L. (2016b). Government spending, corruption and economic growth. World Development, 84, 190–205.
View in Google Scholar

Dong, B., & Torgler, B. (2011). Democracy, property rights, income equality, and corruption.
View in Google Scholar

FEEM Working Paper, 8.2011. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1756816
View in Google Scholar

Easterly, W., & Levine, R. (1997). Africa’s growth tragedy: Policies and ethnic divisions. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(4), 1203–1250.
View in Google Scholar

Easterly, W., & Levine, R. (2003). Tropics, germs, and crops: How endowments influence economic development. Journal of Monetary Economics, 50(1), 3–39.
View in Google Scholar

Falvey, R., Foster, N., & Greenaway, D. (2006). Intellectual property rights and economic growth. Review of Development Economics, 10, 700–719.
View in Google Scholar

Field, E. (2007). Entitled to work: Urban tenure security and labor supply in Peru. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 122(4), 1561–1602.
View in Google Scholar

FMI. (2018). Afrique subsaharienne: Mobilisation des recettes fiscales et investissement privé. Perspectives économiques régionales. Études Économiques et Financières.
View in Google Scholar

Goldstein, M., & Udry, C. (2008). The profits of power: Land rights and agricultural investment in Ghana. Journal of Political Economy, 116(6), 981–1022.
View in Google Scholar

Green, A., & Moser, C. (2012). Do property rights institutions matter at the local level?
View in Google Scholar

Evidence from Madagascar. Journal of Development Studies, 49(1), 95–109.
View in Google Scholar

Gründler, K., & Potrafke, N. (2019). Corruption and economic growth: New empirical evidence. ifo Working Paper, 309. ifo Institute – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich. https://hdl.handle.net/10419/213586
View in Google Scholar

Gyimah-Brempong, K. (2002). Corruption, economic growth, and income inequality in Africa. Economics of Governance, 3, 183–209.
View in Google Scholar

Haydaroglu, C. (2015). The relationship between property rights and economic growth: An analysis of OECD and EU countries. Danube, 6(4), 217–239. https://doi.org/10.1515/danb-2015-0014
View in Google Scholar

Heckelman, J. C., & Powell, B. (2008). Corruption and the institutional environment for growth. Research Working Paper, 2008-6. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/7359094.pdf
View in Google Scholar

Heritage Foundation. (2022). Index of economic freedom. The Heritage Foundation. heritage.org/index
View in Google Scholar

Huang, C. J. (2016). Is corruption bad for economic growth? Evidence from Asia-Pacific countries. North American Journal of Economics and Finance, 35, 247–256.
View in Google Scholar

Hudson, J., & Minea, A. (2013). Innovation, intellectual property rights, and economic development: A unified empirical investigation. World Development, 46, 66–78.
View in Google Scholar

Huntington, S. (1968). Political order in changing societies. Yale University Press.
View in Google Scholar

Im, K. S., Pesaran, M. H., & Shin, Y. (2003). Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels. Journal of Econometrics, 115(1), 53–74.
View in Google Scholar

Johnson, S., McMillan, J., & Woodruff, C. (2002). Property rights and finance. American Economic Review, 92(5), 1335–1356.
View in Google Scholar

Kemal, A. (2007). Property rights and corruption. MPRA Working Paper, 55709. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/55709/
View in Google Scholar

Laffont, J. J., & N’Gbo, A. G. M. (2000). Cross-subsidies and network expansion in developing countries. European Economic Review, 44, 797–805.
View in Google Scholar

Laffont, J. J., & N’Guessan, T. (1999). Competition and corruption in an agency relationship. Journal of Development Economics, 60(2), 271–295.
View in Google Scholar

Landes, D. S. (1998). The wealth and poverty of nations: Why some are so rich and some so poor? W.W. Norton & Company.
View in Google Scholar

Leff, N. (1964). Economic development through bureaucratic corruption. American Behavioral Scientist, 82, 337–341.
View in Google Scholar

Lerner, J. (2009). The empirical impact of intellectual property rights on innovation: Puzzles and clues. American Economic Review, 99, 343–348.
View in Google Scholar

Levin, A., Lin, C. F., & Chu, C. S. J. (2002). Unit root tests in panel data: Asymptotic and finite-sample properties. Journal of Econometrics, 108, 1–24.
View in Google Scholar

Lui, F. T. (1985). An equilibrium queuing model of bribery. Journal of Political Economy, 93, 760–781.
View in Google Scholar

Mance, D., & Pecaric, M. (2016). Relationship between property rights enforcement and corruption—panel analysis of EU countries. Working Paper presented at 16th International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development—The legal challenges of modern world.
View in Google Scholar

Mauro, P. (1995). Corruption and growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 110(3), 681–712.
View in Google Scholar

McLennan, P., & Le, Q. (2011). The effects of intellectual property rights violations on economic growth. Modern Economy, 2, 107–113.
View in Google Scholar

Mijiyawa, A. (2010). Institutions and development: Analysis of the macroeconomic effects of institutions and institutional reforms in developing countries [published doctoral thesis]. University of Auvergne-Clermont I. https://theses.hal.science/tel-00484905
View in Google Scholar

Mo, P. H. (2001). Corruption and economic growth. Journal of Comparative Economics, 29, 66–79.
View in Google Scholar

North, D. C. (1981). Structure and change in economic history. W.W. Norton & Company. North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economics performance. Cambridge University Press.
View in Google Scholar

North, D. C., & Thomas, R. P. (1973). The rise of the western world: A new economic history. Cambridge University Press.
View in Google Scholar

Pande, R., & Udry, C. (2006). Institutions and development: A view from below. In R. Blundell, W. K. Newey T. Persson (Eds.), Advances in economics and econometrics (pp. 349– 412). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139052276.016
View in Google Scholar

Putnam, R. D. (1993). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton University Press.
View in Google Scholar

Rodrik, D., Subramanian, A., & Trebbi, F. (2004). The institution rule: The primacy of institutions over geography and integration in economic development. Journal of Economic Growth, 9, 131–165.
View in Google Scholar

Samuel, A. (2011). Intellectual property rights, innovations, and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Third World Studies, 28, 231–236.
View in Google Scholar

Sattar, A., & Mahmood, T. (2011). Intellectual property rights and economic growth: Evidence from high, middle and low income countries. Pakistan Economic and Social Review, 49, 163–186.
View in Google Scholar

Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R. W. (1993). Corruption. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 108, 599–617.
View in Google Scholar

Tollison, R. D. (1982). Rent-seeking: A survey. Kyklos, 35(4), 575–602.
View in Google Scholar

Transparency International. (2022). L’Indice de perception de la corruption. Rapport annuel 2022. https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2022
View in Google Scholar

Tsanana, E., Chapsa, X., & Katrakilidis, C. (2016). Is growth corrupted and or bureaucratic?
View in Google Scholar

Panel evidence from the enlarged EU. Applied Economics, 48, 3131–3147.
View in Google Scholar

Verdier, T., & Acemoglu, D. (1998). Property rights, corruption and the allocation of talent: A general equilibrium approach. Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, 108(450), 1381–1403.
View in Google Scholar

Walid, B., & Kais, M. (2019). Modelling the causal linkages between trade openness, innovation, financial development and economic growth in OECD Countries. Applied Economics Letters, 27(1), 5–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2019.1605581
View in Google Scholar

Watson, R. (2004). Governance and ownerships. Edward Elgar Publishing.
View in Google Scholar

Wedeman, A. (1997). Looters, rent-scrapers, and dividend-collectors: Corruption and growth in Zaire, South Korea, and the Philippines. Journal of Developing Areas, 31, 457–478.
View in Google Scholar

Wei, S. J. (2000). How taxing is corruption on international investors? Review of Economics and Statistics, 82, 1–11.
View in Google Scholar

World Development Indicators. (2022). Base de données de la Banque Mondiale. Databank. Worldwide Governance Indicators. (2022). Indicateurs de gouvernance mondiale. Databank
View in Google Scholar

Zak, P. J. (2002). Institutions, property rights and growth. Louvain Economic Review, 68(1–2), 55–74. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/6227321.pdf
View in Google Scholar

Downloads

Published

2024-08-02

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Abdoulaye, D. (2024). Corruption, property rights and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. La Revue Internationale Des Économistes De Langue Française, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.18559/rielf.2024.1.1634

Similar Articles

11-20 of 194

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.