Public Sector Corruption and Trust in the Private Sector

Abstract

Using Afrobarometer data, we show that experiencing bribery in the course of one's interactions with the public sector lowers one's trust in big private corporations, small businesses and local traders. As trust in market institutions is vital to the efficient functioning of an economy, our findings point to a previously unknown and potentially substantial cost of corruption. This relationship is evident even when we control for perceptions of corruption. Our findings are not driven by corruption lowering interpersonal trust. Having to pay a bribe for household services is the corrupt interaction most strongly associated with the decline in private sector trust.