Media freedom and government budget transparency in Africa

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of media freedom on government budget transparency in Africa. Also, this study examines the nonlinearities of media freedom–government budget transparency nexus. Design/methodology/approach The study applied the two-step System Generalized Method of Moments together with dynamic panel threshold regression techniques to test its hypotheses. The study used panel data covering 54 African countries over the period 2006–2023. Government budget transparency was measured using the Open Budget Index (OBI) as reported by the Open Budget Partnership. Findings The study reveals a strong positive association between media freedom and government budget transparency in Africa. Moreover, the effect of media freedom is found to be threshold-dependent. Specifically, media freedom enhances budget transparency when it remains below the threshold level of 52.148. Research limitations/implications The results extend theoretical understanding of how media freedom influences budget transparency in developing economies, highlighting the nonlinear nature of this relationship and enriching the discourse in public sector accounting and governance. Practical implications For policymakers, the evidence suggests that promoting media freedom is critical for enhancing budget transparency; however, the benefits are contingent on achieving and sustaining media freedom below certain threshold levels. Originality/value The study contributes to the public sector accounting literature by linking media freedom to government budget transparency in Africa. Hitherto, studies concentrate on how media freedom affect political budget cycle and corruption without considering how the media can influence government budget transparency in a developing economy.