Corruption and subjective well-being in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean

Robert Gillanders, Ina Kubbe and Giovanna Rodriguez-Garcia

Journal of Financial Crime, 2026, 1-27

Abstract: PurposeThis study aims to examine how corruption is associated with subjective well-being by distinguishing personal bribery experiences from the broader regional corruption environment.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses Afrobarometer Round 8 and the 2014 Americas Barometer to examine 849 subnational regions across Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. This study analyzes the association between subjective well-being and two dimensions of corruption: individual bribery experiences and regional corruption intensity. The models account for individual and regional economic conditions. Additional analyses examine sector-specific corruption and gender differences.FindingsHigher regional corruption intensity is consistently associated with lower subjective well-being, even after accounting for economic conditions. In Africa, regional corruption is associated with lower well-being, whereas individual bribery is not significantly associated with well-being, with administrative corruption showing the clearest sector-specific association.Originality/valueThis study contributes to research on corruption and well-being by distinguishing individual bribery exposure from the wider regional corruption environment. This study shows that corruption matters as not only a personal experience but also a contextual governance condition that shapes citizens’ daily lives. This study offers a more nuanced account of how corruption is linked to subjective well-being and highlights why subnational, sector-specific and gender-sensitive approaches matter.

Keywords: Subjective well-being; Corruption environment; Regional corruption; Development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/jfc/article/doi/10.1108/JF ... -being-in-Africa-and (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/jfc/article-pdf/doi/10.110 ... c-05-2026-0195en.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:jfcpps:jfc-05-2026-0195

DOI: 10.1108/JFC-05-2026-0195

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Financial Crime is currently edited by Dr Paul Gilmour

More articles in Journal of Financial Crime from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().