Bribes, Bureaucracies, and Blackouts: Towards Understanding How Corruption Impacts the Quality of Electricity Supply to End-Users in Transition and Developing Economies

摘要

The main purpose of this paper is to empirically estimate the impacts of corruption on the quality ofelectricity supply in emerging markets and developing economies. Poor electricity service delivery has criticalimplications for economic growth, and thus our findings can contribute to dialogue on effective policy measures seekingto improve electricity supply and its related institutions. An unbalanced pseudo-panel covering survey data from firms in115 countries over the time period of 2006 to 2010 is used. Results indicate that as more firms in an economy offerinformal gifts or payments in return for an electricity connection, the overall quality of electricity supply decreases asmeasured by increased monthly power outages, higher percentages of electricity coming from back-up generators, andhigher percentages of total sales lost to electricity outages. We also find that female participation in firm ownershipdecreases the chance that a firm will decide to offer a bribe for an electrical connection.