Culture and bribe giving: Evidence from firm-level data

Bribery is prevalent in many countries and may be affected by the national culture. This study aims to examine the relationship between culture and firm bribery. This study thus combines country-level data from Hofstede's cultural dimensions and firm-level data from the Enterprise Surveys, resulting in a combined data set covering more than 40,000 firms in 45 countries. Using a probit model with a dummy dependent variable indicating firm bribery, this study finds that firm bribery is associated with two cultural dimensions. Specifically, a country's level of power distance is positively associated with firm bribery, while the level of long-term orientation is negatively associated with it. The effects of these cultural dimensions are not only statistically significant, but also economically important.