Corruption at Household Level in Cameroon: Assessing Major Determinants
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Date
2012-08
Authors
Timnou, Joseph-Pierre
Feunon, Dorine K.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AERC
Abstract
Corruption is a major blight on modern society. It is acute in sub-Saharan Africa, a region
that has suffered economic ills for many years. It is difficult to tackle the problem due
to its politically sensitive nature. Indeed, top officers are viewed as generally corrupt.
Corruption is a topical issue in almost all countries in the region. Nevertheless, relevant
empirical research is lacking, especially in countries where corruption is rampant. Existing studies highlight illegal practices in trade, finances, international relations, etc., but there are still many aspects to be addressed.
Cameroon is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, although the situation is
improving each year according to the Corruption Perception Index issued by Transparency
International. Today, the fight against corruption is part of the government agenda but
important changes are yet to come. The household survey carried out in 2001 examined
elements of corruption in common household domains like health, education, security
and other services including external community variables. This can be termed petty
corruption. This paper tries to explain if there are large differences between communities
that can be explained by community variables.
Simple analysis using two variables shows important variations in the level of petty
corruption, notably according to regions (increasing from rural to urban areas) with
the poor being less likely to give bribes. Using multivariate analysis it appears that: a)
modernization is associated with petty corruption; b) political environment does not
really matter, except the influence of city councils; c) expenditure and level of education
do not show similar trends; d) civil servants are not associated with bribe giving; and, e)
positive impacts are found with age, number of years of education, low level of education
and Islam. Some results observed with multivariate analysis contradict those found with
bivariate analysis. All in all, although community variables can explain differences in
petty corruption, household characterizations are equally important.
This is just an outline of corruption practices in Cameroon. Its foundation lies on
a few variables whose measure is not perfect. For further research, it is necessary to
enlarge the scope of the study and improve the measurement aspect. Nevertheless, the
results can help make better decisions to reorient the fight against such bad practices,
since corruption is recognized as a deterrent to development, especially when it becomes systemic.
Description
JQ 3525. A55 C 686 2012
Keywords
Corruption - Cameroon , House holds - Cameroon , Political Corruption- Cameroon