Corruption, Economic Growth, And Governance in The East African Region: Causes, Consequences, and Mitigation Strategies

Palavras-chave

Anti-Corruption
Good governance
Sustainable development
East Africa
Corruption

Como Citar

Alemayehu, M. H. (2025). Corruption, Economic Growth, And Governance in The East African Region: Causes, Consequences, and Mitigation Strategies. Revista De Direito E Análise Da Corrupção, 7, e086. https://doi.org/10.37497/CorruptionReview.7.2025.86

Resumo

Corruption is a pervasive global problem with different causes, multifaceted consequences, and possible solutions. This study reviewed the existing literature on the prevalence, causes, and consequences of corruption and its empirical relationship with governance and economic growth in the East African region. The prevalence of corruption varies widely among countries in the East African region, ranging from the notable success of Seychelles to the severe challenges faced in Somalia.

The causes of corruption in the region are interdependent, which include political, social, economic, and legislative factors. Particularly in countries with the highest corruption levels, like Somalia and South Sudan, political instability and internal conflict are the root causes of corruption, significantly worsening the problem. The analyses of empirical studies also predominantly supported that lower corruption levels foster better governance systems and economic development. Somalia, the most corrupt country in the world, has the weakest governance system, while Mauritius, with relatively lower corruption levels in the region, has a strong governance system. The findings generally concluded that corruption is unethical, immoral, economically harmful, and a symptom of dysfunctional governance systems.   

The fight against corruption is everyone's responsibility, demanding collective action, ongoing effort, and commitment from all stakeholders. However, this study emphasized that in the most corrupt countries in the region, strategies for combating corruption primarily should focus on establishing a stable political and government system.

https://doi.org/10.37497/CorruptionReview.7.2025.86

Referências

Abdulai, D. N. (2023). Corruption and economic growth in Africa: The impact on development (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003452416

Aborisade, R. , & Aliyyu, N. B. (2018). Corruption and Africa. In: Akanle, O., Adésìnà, J. (eds) The development of Africa. Social Indicators Research Series, 71. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66242-8_13.

Aidt, T., Dutta, J., & Sena, V. (2008). Governance regimes, corruption, and growth: Theory and evidence. Journal of Comparative Economics, 36(2), 195–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2007.11.004

Awan, R. U., Akhtar, T., Rahim, S., Sher, F., & Cheema, A. R. (2018). Governance, corruption, and economic growth: A panel data analysis of selected SAARC countries. Pakistan Economic and Social Review, 56(1), 1–20. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26616730

Bailey, K. D. (1994). Typologies and taxonomies. An introduction to classification techniques. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412986397

Bajpai, R., & Myers, C. B. (2020). Enhancing government effectiveness and transparency: The fight against corruption. Washington, D. C.: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/235541600116631094/

Blackburn, K., Bose, N., & Haque, M. E. (2010). Endogenous corruption in economic development. Journal of Economic Studies, 371 (1), pp. 4-25.

Bussell, J. (2015). Typologies of corruption: A pragmatic approach. In Law 2015 (pp. 21–45). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781784714703.00007

Cabaravdic, A., & Nilsson, M. (2017). The effect of corruption on economic growth: Does corruption show a significant effect on the growth of an economy? (Bachelor's thesis, Jönköping University). http://www.diva-portal.se/smash/get/diva2:1107921/.pdf

Elamin, N. (2019). A theoretical analysis of corruption in Sudan: Causes, diagnostics, consequences, and remedies. African Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 13(2), 4-16.

Frahm, O. (2018). Corruption in sub-Saharan Africa’s established and simulated democracies: The cases of Ghana, Nigeria, and South Sudan. Crime, Law and Social Change, 70(3), 257–274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-017-9730-2

Franz, E. (2012). Toa kitu kidogo: Corruption in East Africa. In the Balance, 3. https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/inthebalance/3

Freille, S., Haque, M. E., & Kneller, R. (2007). A contribution to the empirics of press freedom and corruption. European Journal of Political Economy, 23(4), 838-862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2007.03.002

Gupta, A., (2017). Changing forms of corruption in India. Modern Asian Studies. 51(6):1862-1890. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0026749X17000580

Gyimah-Brempong, K. (2006). Corruption, economic growth and income distribution in Africa: are there regional differences? Economics of Governance, 7 (3), pp. 245-269. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10101-005-0008-2

Haydaroğlu, C. (2020). Corruption, institutions and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Int. J. Eco. Res. 7(1), 14 -26. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347936442

Heckelman, J., & Powell, B. (2010). Corruption and the institutional environment for growth. Comparative Economic Studies, 52(3), 378. https://doi.org/10.1057/ces.2010.14

Hope, K. R. (2017 a). Corruption and governance in Africa. New York: Palgrave Macmillan/Springer.

Hope, K. R. (2017 b). Fighting corruption in developing countries: Some aspects of policy from lessons from the field. Journal of Public Affairs, 17(e1683). https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1683

Jama, A. B. (2021). The effect of corruption on economic growth: Empirical evidence in East Africa. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), 5(6), 717. ISSN 2454-6186. http://www.rsisinternational.org/IJRISS/.

Jonhson, N. D. & Yamarik, S. (2011). Corruption is bad for growth (even in the United States). Public Choice, 147 (4), pp. 377–393. 10.1007/s11127-010-9634-5

Khan, M. (2006). Determinants of corruption in developing countries: The limits of conventional economic analysis. International Handbook on the Economics of Corruption, 216-244.

Kaufmann, D., Kraay, A., & Mastruzzi, M. (2011). The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Methodology and analytical issues. Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, 3(2), 220–246. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1876404511200046.

Kunieda, T., Okada, K., & Shibata, A. (2014). Corruption, capital account liberalization, and economic growth: Theory and evidence. International Economics, 139, 80-108.

Lambsdorff, J. G. (2006). Causes and consequences of corruption: What do we know from a cross-section of countries? In S. Rose-Ackerman (Ed.), International handbook on the economics of corruption (Chapter 1). Edward Elgar Publishing. DOI: 10.4337/9781847203106.00007.

Lamin, C. (2019). Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa: An impediment to economic growth. European Scientific Journal, 15(10). http://dx.doi.org/10.19044/esj.2019.v15n10p16

Malanski, L. K. & Póvoa, A. S. (2021). Economic growth and corruption in emerging markets: Does economic freedom matter? International Economics, 166(1),58–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inteco.2021.02.001

Méon, P., & Weill, L. (2008). Is corruption an efficient grease? SSRN Electronic Journal, 38(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2009.06.004

Oyamada, E. (2017). Combating corruption in Rwanda: Lessons for policymakers. Asian Education and Development Studies, 6(3), 249-262. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEDS-03-2017-0028

Pavlik, J. B. (2017). The quest for good governance: How societies develop control of corruption, by A. Mungiu-Pippidi. The Independent Review, 22(2), 303–306. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26314824.

Saha, S., & Ben Ali, M. S. (2017). Corruption and economic development: New evidence from the Middle Eastern and North African countries. Economic Analysis and Policy, 54, 83-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2017.02.001

Sauve, B., Woodley, J., Jones, N. J., & Akhtari, S. (2023). Methods of preventing corruption: A review and analysis of select approaches. Public Safety Canada. https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2023-r010/index-en.aspx.

Solability. (2023). The Sustainable Competitiveness Report (12th ed.). The global governance index. Solability. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Sandholtz, W., & Gray, M. M. (2003). International integration and national corruption. International Organization, 57(4), 761–800. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818303574045

Šumah, Š. (2018). Corruption, causes and consequences. In IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72953

Swaleheen, M. (2011). Economic growth with endogenous corruption: An empirical study. Public Choice, 146(1), 23-41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-009-9581-1

Transparency International. (2023). Corruption Perceptions Index 2023. https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2023/index/nzl.

Wasuge Ahmed, M.A.& Özkan, S. (2021). The effects of corruption on political development in Somalia. Journal of Social and Humanities Sciences Research, 8(73), 2072-2079. http://dx.doi.org/10.26450/jshsr.2630

Zhang, M., Zhang, H., Zhang, L. (2023). Corruption, anti-corruption, and economic development. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(434). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01930-5.

Zhang, Y., & Vargas-Hernández, J. G. (2015). Introduction. In Y. Zhang & C. Levana (Eds.), Government anti-corruption strategies (pp. xiii–xxv). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/b18560

Zidi, A., & Dhifallah, S. M. (2013). Corruption, governance and economic growth in developing countries: Analysis by panel data. International Journal of Management & Business Studies, 3(2), 25. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:154474682.

Creative Commons License
Este trabalho está licenciado sob uma licença Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) 2025 Maylaf Hiruy Alemayehu

Downloads

Não há dados estatísticos.