The Effect of Corruption on African Manufacturing Exports

This research aims to analyze the role of corruption in the export performance of manufacturing companies in Africa. We used the Enterprise Survey from World Bank datasets on manufacturing companies from 34 African countries. The results from Probit and Tobit models show that corruption measured by annual "bribe" payments affects positively and very significantly the probability of exporting and the export intensity of African manufacturing companies, especially for small companies (less than one hundred employees). On the other hand, the cost of corruption borne by companies to export is exacerbated by the constraints of access to finance. These results suggest strengthening anti-corruption programs which, along with improving access to finance, would help encourage the export activity of small manufacturing companies.