59

Who are the most prone to paying bribes? Who are approached for bribes? Who pays the price? This paper explores these issues in sub-Saharan Africa, an area of the world where corruption is widespread. The empirical research is based on a rich collection of comparable data provided by Afrobarometer surveys conducted in 18 sub-Saharan African countries. In order to answer these questions, this paper also analyses the characteristics of users of governmental services in Africa. Our study yields new results about exposure to corruption and the use of public services. In particular, our findings show that the role played by ethnic and religious groups in corruption in Africa is not as clear as the literature tends to suggest.