Geographies of African corruption
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the uneven geographies of corruption on the African continent. Corruption is an entrenched part of African political culture. However, the degree and impacts of corruption vary widely across the continent, ranging from failed states such as Somalia to...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Emerald Publishing
2017-04-01
|
Series: | PSU Research Review |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/PRR-12-2016-0012 |
id |
doaj-a2cc7348a8a74c799df1164d69e6fe8a |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-a2cc7348a8a74c799df1164d69e6fe8a2020-11-25T02:21:33ZengEmerald PublishingPSU Research Review 2399-17472398-40072017-04-0111203810.1108/PRR-12-2016-0012591078Geographies of African corruptionBarney Warf0Department of Geography, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USAPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the uneven geographies of corruption on the African continent. Corruption is an entrenched part of African political culture. However, the degree and impacts of corruption vary widely across the continent, ranging from failed states such as Somalia to the region’s bright spot Botswana. This paper first defines corruption and discusses its causes and effects. It then delves into the specifics of African corruption, including its causes and effects such as patrimonial political cultures, clientelism and the role of natural resource exports. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses data from Transparency International to assess African corruption empirically and geographically, and links its levels of severity using correlations to gross domestic product per capita, literacy, income inequality and freedom of the media. Findings – The major findings are that while the vast majority of the continent’s one billion people live under very corrupt regimes, the impacts of corruption on economic growth are questionable. Few geographic studies of corruption exist. Originality/value – The paper’s novelty stems in part from being the first to explore African corruption from a spatial perspective, illustrating its widely varying contexts and consequences.https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/PRR-12-2016-0012AfricaGovernanceDevelopmentCorruptionResource cursePatrimonialism |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Barney Warf |
spellingShingle |
Barney Warf Geographies of African corruption PSU Research Review Africa Governance Development Corruption Resource curse Patrimonialism |
author_facet |
Barney Warf |
author_sort |
Barney Warf |
title |
Geographies of African corruption |
title_short |
Geographies of African corruption |
title_full |
Geographies of African corruption |
title_fullStr |
Geographies of African corruption |
title_full_unstemmed |
Geographies of African corruption |
title_sort |
geographies of african corruption |
publisher |
Emerald Publishing |
series |
PSU Research Review |
issn |
2399-1747 2398-4007 |
publishDate |
2017-04-01 |
description |
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the uneven geographies of corruption on the African continent. Corruption is an entrenched part of African political culture. However, the degree and impacts of corruption vary widely across the continent, ranging from failed states such as Somalia to the region’s bright spot Botswana. This paper first defines corruption and discusses its causes and effects. It then delves into the specifics of African corruption, including its causes and effects such as patrimonial political cultures, clientelism and the role of natural resource exports. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses data from Transparency International to assess African corruption empirically and geographically, and links its levels of severity using correlations to gross domestic product per capita, literacy, income inequality and freedom of the media. Findings – The major findings are that while the vast majority of the continent’s one billion people live under very corrupt regimes, the impacts of corruption on economic growth are questionable. Few geographic studies of corruption exist. Originality/value – The paper’s novelty stems in part from being the first to explore African corruption from a spatial perspective, illustrating its widely varying contexts and consequences. |
topic |
Africa Governance Development Corruption Resource curse Patrimonialism |
url |
https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/PRR-12-2016-0012 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT barneywarf geographiesofafricancorruption |
_version_ |
1724865441921236992 |