Corruption in the informal sector : evidence from West Africa

Using a unique dataset, this paper analyses the causes and impacts of bribery in the informal sector in West Africa. It investigates the determinants of the incidence of bribery and the magnitude of the bribes actually paid. Our results show that the mechanisms at play are no different than those found for the formal sector by other authors. With respect to the impacts of corruption on a firm’s performance, our findings show that experience of corruption increases business performance, but that this effect is driven by just one category of informal firm: constrained gazelles.