The untold story of the modernization thesis: Urbanization and corruption in developing countries

Abstract

How does urbanization affect corruption? Modernization theory suggests a negative relationship. Existing empirical studies tend to confirm this hypothesis, showing that urbanization is inversely associated with corruption. In this paper, I provide an alternative perspective on corruption, focusing especially on Sub-Saharan Africa. I argue that the modernization process, ironically, can exacerbate rather than ameliorate corruption. Urbanization is conducive to corruption in an African context because urbanization is characterized by a more individualistic lifestyle reducing thus the cost of being corrupt as there are fewer social sanctions and peer pressure compared to community-based traditional life. A time-series cross-sectional analysis (1972−2015) shows across several regression models and estimators that urbanization is directly associated with corruption in a sample of African countries, but it has mixed effects on a global sample. Re-conceptualizing how urbanization shapes political culture in Africa is important for a continent that is rapidly urbanizing, working to control corruption, and in need of further development.