Does innovation foster or mitigate the corruption obstacle? Firm-level evidence from Tunisia

Sdiri, Hanen and Ayadi, Mohamed (2016): Does innovation foster or mitigate the corruption obstacle? Firm-level evidence from Tunisia.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the extent to which Tunisian firms regard corruption as a major obstacle to their product and process innovation. Using firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey conducted in 2013, we empirically test how innovation accentuates or mitigates the corruption obstacle. We show that innovation has a negative and statistically significant effect on the corruption obstacle. Besides, we prove that competition and the obstacle to corruption are negatively related. This result teaches that the Tunisian firms face a rent-shifting corruption.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Innovation, Corruption obstacle, Rent-shifting.
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making > D73 - Bureaucracy ; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations ; Corruption; L - Industrial Organization > L8 - Industry Studies: Services > L80 - General; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O31 - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O32 - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

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