| There has been substantial research on the causes of political corruption cross-nationally. Debates, seminars and conferences have been organized as to why perceptions of political corruption are pervasive, notably in sub-Saharan Africa. There is a general consensus in the literature that perceptions of political corruption produce a variety of pernicious effects, including undermining the legitimacy of government. Yet, we know little about the possible role of individual- and societal-level characteristics on perceptions of political corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa. This dissertation examines the impact of both individual- and societal-level characteristics on perceptions of political corruption in this region of the world.;The goal of this research is to test the implicit hypothesis that characteristics of individual and/or of society contribute immensely to perceptions of political corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa. Data on the Sub-Saharan countries were obtained from Afrobarometer Survey Group, Kaufmann, Kraay, and Zoido-Lobaton (KKZ) index, and various United Nation Annual Reports. I performed analysis on five separate Sub-Saharan countries, then on to all Sub-Saharan nations of which data were available to see if there are differences or similarities in perception within and among nations.;All analyses indicate that higher levels of educational attainment, media consumption, political fragmentation, personal well-being, economic well-being of a nation, and political situation all help to increase perception of political corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa. For example, on average, those with higher education are more likely to perceive political corruption, whereas those that are highly satisfied with their economic condition perceive low corruption. |
