Abstract
Social cohesion is vital for societal stability, yet its drivers, particularly in Africa, are not well understood. This paper highlights the role of the public sector in shaping social cohesion, especially through corruption, discrimination, or inefficiency. We focus on the moderating effect of institutional quality in the relationship between perceived corruption and social cohesion. Using data from Afrobarometer Round 8 (2019-2021) across 32 African countries, we employ a multilevel mixed-effects regression model to account for individual and country-level heterogeneity and to test the moderating role of institutional quality. We find that higher levels of perceived corruption are significantly associated with lower social cohesion. Disaggregated results show this relationship operates through diminished trust, increased perceptions of inequality, and weakened national identity. Importantly, we find that institutional quality moderates this effect: countries with weaker institutions experience a more pronounced negative relationship between corruption and trust. These findings provide key insights for African policymakers, underscoring the need to address corruption and strengthen institutions to foster greater unity, trust, and social resilience.