An empirical investigation of bribery in international trade

It is shown that the degree of corruption of importing countries affects the trade structure of exporting countries. Whereas Sweden and Malaysia experience disadvantages with corrupt counterparts, the exports of Belgium/Luxembourg, France, Italy, the Netherlands and South Korea are positively related to the level of corruption of importing countries. While we controlled for geographic, sectoral, idiomatic and other influences, it is concluded that these findings are due to the differentiated inclination of exporters to offer bribes. © 1998 European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes.