The Role of Gender, Ethnicity and Harambee in Corruption: Experimental Evidence from Kenya

Abstract

This thesis investigates the role of gender composition, ethnic heterogeneity and harambee on corruption. The interest is premised on the high levels of corruption in Kenya coupled with the rising ethnicization of politics and the allegation of harambee being one of the causes of corruption. In addition, there has been growing advocacy for the greater involvement of women in the public sector as an anticorruption strategy. Given this, this thesis uses experimental games which are novel in the Kenyan context to examine the extent to which individual attributes such as gender and ethnicity might ináuence the propensity to o§er or accept a bribe, or to punish individuals who engage in such activities. In addition, this thesis uses a public good game and a common pool resource game to examine the alleged link between harambee and corruption.