Manifestations of Corruption: A Comparative Analysis of Ghana and Nigeria

Abstract

After spending six weeks of my summer immersed in Ghana and experiencing a culture foreign to my own, I was perplexed by the amount of corruption that took place on a daily basis. However, when I returned home to the United States and investigated I corruption cross-nationally, I discovered that corruption in Ghana was considered mild by much of the academic community and that Nigeria, a country similar in many aspects to

In Ghana, was one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Further investigation indicated that not only was corruption more severe in Nigeria but that it manifested in a much more organized way than I had observed in Ghana. After realizing that the corruption I witnessed in Ghana was minor in comparison to that in Nigeria, I embarked on a mission to discover the factors that have facilitated corruption in these two states and have generated the differences in its manifestations.

While in Ghana I conducted research and interviewed government officials, traditional Chiefs, and average citizens. Although I would have preferred to conduct similar research in Nigeria, it became too difficult an endeavor as family and the United States Department of State urged against it. Instead, a thorough investigation of the literature as well as an extensive examination of Transparency International and World Bank corruption indicators was conducted.

Through my research, I have identified several factors that may serve to explain the different manifestations of corruption in Ghana and Nigeria. Specifically, state revenues, ethnic divisions, and the magnitude of social spending are important aspects that have shaped the forms of corruption in Ghana and Nigeria and can help us to understand the similarities and differences in corruption in these two states.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2006

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Jungblut, Bernadette

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Degree Program

Political Science

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences; Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic; Corruption -- Ghana; Corruption -- Nigeria; Ghana -- Economic conditions; Nigeria -- Economic conditions; Political corruption -- Nigeria; Political corruption -- ghana

Format

Print

Identifier

DP0021966

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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