The Impact of Democracy and Property Rights on Diminishing Corruption in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Administrative corruption is more or less observed in almost all countries. However, its extent and form vary from one country to another. Presently, administrative and financial corruption is a worldwide problem. The governments worldwide are fully aware of the many damages it causes: it paralyzes the local economies, disrupts the trend of economic development, and threatens democratic institutions. Therefore, it is necessary to fight corruption by identifying and controlling the factors influencing it. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of democracy and property rights on diminishing corruption in the Middle East and North Africa over the period 2003-2012. For this purpose, the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) was used to measure the fall in administrative corruption in these countries. The utilized research model was developed by using econometrics techniques such as Panel Data Unit Root, Panel Data Co-Integration, Fixed Effects Method and Generalized Least Squares Method. The results of this study indicate that democracy and property rights have significant positive effects on CPI (a decrease in corruption) in the studied countries. Economic Development Index (EDI), inflation and saving rate have significant negative effects on CPI (an increase in corruption). Additionally, the human capital has a positive effect on CPI (a decrease in corruption).