Does Mother Nature Corrupt? Natural Resources, Corruption, and Economic Growth
Open accessAbstract
This paper argues that natural resource abundance creates opportunities for rent-seeking behavior and is an important factor in determining a country’s level of corruption. In a simple growth model, we illustrate the interrelationships between natural resources, corruption, and economic growth, and discuss potential anti-corruption policies. We show that the extent of corruption depends on natural resource abundance, government policies, and the concentration of bureaucratic power. Furthermore, the growth effects of natural resource discoveries and anticorruption policies crucially depend on the economy’s state of development. We empirically corroborate the model’s implications in a cross-country framework with both corruption and growth endogenized.
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A positive relationship between resource abundance and levels of corruption is established in a number of studies.
“the positive relationship between resource abundance and levels of corruption is established in a number of studies (for example, Ades and Di Tella 1999; Leite and Weidman 1999).”
From Using Natural Resources for Development: Why Has It Proven So Difficult? (2016) · cites this paper as Leite and Weidman 1999
The Abstract says natural resource abundance helps determine a country’s level of corruption, and the Corruption Regression reports higher corruption associated with fuel and ores. But that section also reports lower corruption associated with agriculture and food, so the paper does not establish an unqualified positive relationship across all natural resources. Our copy provides no page number for these passages. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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Cites
Economic Reform and the Process of Global Integration
Sachs, J. D., Warner, A., Aslund, A., & Fischer, S. (1995) · Brookings Papers on Economic Activity · doi:10.2307/2534573 · Cited by 4,950 · see citing works
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Research works printed but not linked: 27
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Using Natural Resources for Development: Why Has It Proven So Difficult?
Venables, A. J. (2016) · Journal of Economic Perspectives · doi:10.1257/jep.30.1.161 · Cited by 634 · see citing works
- Authors
- Leite, C., & Weidmann, J.
- Affiliations
- International Monetary Fund (US)
- Venue
- IMF Working Papers
- Publisher
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- Published
- 1999-07
- Volume
- 1999
- Issue
- 085
- Pages
- 1
- ISSN
- 1018-5941 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2954912999
- Cited by
- 604
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 41 · 2017: 29 · 2016: 36 · 2015: 30 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 25 · 2012: 20
- FWCI
- 13.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- IMF Working Paper (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › General Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Natural Resources and Economic Development
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Corruption and Economic Development
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Economic Growth and Development
- Keywords
- natural resource wealth, corruption, economic growth, rent-seeking, anti-corruption policy, bureaucratic power, public policy, endogenous growth, natural resource discovery
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