I don't think there's an African tendency towards corruption or a European tendency towards a lack thereof. Neither of those continents has a homogenous cultur

I don't think there's an African tendency towards corruption or a European tendency towards a lack thereof. Neither of those continents has a homogenous cultural (nor socio-economic) landscape. But I do think there are cultures which tolerate more corruption than others. For instance, Italy, despite being a wealthy European country, tolerates much more than, say, Belgium. My Sicilian friends have indicated that this is because the government in Sicily, for instance, was long seen as not having a public mandate and constantly shifting allegiances while the mafia was a constant, much more predictable entity: "cosa nostra". I would venture that corruption as such is as much a function of the view of the government as legitimate over a period of multiple generations as economic conditions. And Africa's modern history of imperial and home grown despots hasn't done well to legitimize the rule of law.