Mobile Money Payment: An Antidote to Petty Corruption?
Date
2021-08-06
Authors
Laura, Barasa
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Economic Research Consortium
Abstract
Using a two-period panel comprising firm-level data from the 2007 and 2013 World
Bank Enterprise Surveys, this paper investigates the impact of mobile money use
on bribe payments in Kenya. Results based on a matched difference-in-differences
estimator demonstrate that adopting mobile money for financial transactions leads to
a 3.1 percentage point reduction in bribe payments. This can be explained considering
that mobile money transactions leave behind a detailed trail of digital records and
accounts, which may curb acts of bribery. Our findings suggest that official mobile
money payments can be a practical and effective anti-corruption intervention.