Can Digitalization Help Deter Corruption in Africa?

This paper studies the effect of digitalization on the perception of corruption and trust in tax officials in Africa. Using individual-level data from Afrobarometer surveys and several indices of digitalization, we find that an increase in digital adoption is associated with a reduction in the perce...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ouedraogo, Rasmané
Other Authors: Sy, Amadou
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Washington, D.C. International Monetary Fund 2020
Series:IMF Working Papers
Subjects:
Online Access:
Collection: International Monetary Fund - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
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651 4 |a United States 
653 |a Finance, Public 
653 |a Digitalization 
653 |a Technological Change: Choices and Consequences 
653 |a Labour 
653 |a Public finance & taxation 
653 |a Industries: Information Technololgy 
653 |a Information technology industries 
653 |a Unemployment 
653 |a Aggregate Labor Productivity 
653 |a Diffusion Processes 
653 |a Bureaucracy 
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653 |a Aggregate Human Capital 
653 |a National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: General 
653 |a Labor 
653 |a Education 
653 |a Administrative Processes in Public Organizations 
653 |a Corruption 
653 |a Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue: General 
653 |a Criminology 
653 |a Education: General 
653 |a White-collar crime 
653 |a Public financial management (PFM) 
653 |a Wages 
653 |a Economic theory 
653 |a Intergenerational Income Distribution 
653 |a Public Finance 
653 |a Income economics 
653 |a Employment 
653 |a Computer Software 
653 |a Information and Internet Services 
653 |a Corporate crime 
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520 |a This paper studies the effect of digitalization on the perception of corruption and trust in tax officials in Africa. Using individual-level data from Afrobarometer surveys and several indices of digitalization, we find that an increase in digital adoption is associated with a reduction in the perception of corruption and an increase in trust in tax officials. Exploiting the exogeneous deployment of submarine cables at the local level, the paper provides evidence of a negative impact of the use of Internet on the perception of corruption. Yet, the paper shows that the dampening effect of digitalization on corruption is hindered in countries where the government has a pattern of intentionally shutting down the Internet, while countries that successfully promote information and communication technology (ICT) enjoy a more amplified effect