Corruption et confiance dans les institutions politiques : test des théories fonctionnalistes dans les démocraties africaines

This article analyzes individual perceptions of the linkage between corruption and trust in political institutions in 16 African democracies. Using perceived corruption and experienced corruption as indicators, it tests the functionalist theories that portray corruption as a way to increase trust in political institutions by compensating for their dysfunctionalities. Estimates based on aggregate data for 16 countries and on individual country data disprove this claim of functionalist theories, showing that corruption does not have a significant positive impact on institutional trust. Our findings also suggest that negative effects of corruption on institutional trust are stronger when the perceived quality of government services is high.