SRD Lab is taking part in the biannual research workshop organised by the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), which runs from 27 November to 1 December 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya.
This workshop is part of the research capacity-building programme initiated by CREA, which regularly organises methodological workshops to hone research skills and familiarise current and potential researchers in the network with relevant developments and tools for implementing their research projects.
The aim of the research was to assess the impact of the reform of the payroll system for civil servants in the DRC.
At this workshop, a member of SRD Lab presents the initial results of the study on the impact of banking reform on corruption among civil servants in the DRC. The background to the study is as follows: in 2011, the salary payment system for civil servants in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was reformed. Civil servants were asked to open a personal bank account so that their salaries could be paid directly to them by commercial banks or mobile phone banking services. This reform was introduced at a time when corruption was endemic. The study whose results are presented aims to contribute to the debate on corruption by shedding light on an aspect that has been little studied until now, namely corruption between civil servants. Using an instrumental variable approach, the study seeks to assess the impact of this banking reform on the corrupt behaviour of civil servants. The study is based on data collected from civil servants in 15 provinces of the DRC as part of a survey conducted as part of the World Bank-supported ‘Public Administration Reform and Rejuvenation Project’.