The temptation of the dark side: why women bribe differently than men

Researchers have repeatedly argued that women engage less in corruption and bribery than men because they are more risk-averse. I argue that female risk-aversion can be offset by sufficiently high benefits from bribery and propose that these benefits vary depending on the area of government services. Previous authors have argued how the gender-interest mechanism prevents women from engaging in grand corruption and how female representation improves government service provision in Europe. Looking through a different lens, I provide a systematic micro-level argument for how the gender-interest mechanism can stimulate petty corruption. Using Afrobarometer data (2011–2013, 2014–2015, 34–36 countries), I find that women are less frequently involved in bribery than men in relation to general government services but equally involved in the health and education sector.