Understanding the resource curse : a large-scale experiment on corruption in Tanzania
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Date
Authors
Cappelen, Alexander W.
Fjeldstad, Odd-Helge
Mmari, Donald
Sjursen, Ingrid Hoem
Tungodden, Bertil
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
Corruption is considered an important driver of the resource curse in developing countries. Based on a large-scale field experiment in Tanzania, this paper studies how the salience of future natural resource revenues shapes beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. We find some evidence that information about the discovery of natural gas causes people to expect more corruption in the future, but no evidence of the information making people at present more willing to engage in corruption and dishonest behavior or less trusting. The findings do not support the idea of self-fulfilling expectations about future corruption. The paper provides a rich set of results on the determinants of corruption and trust in a development context, which may contribute to a better understanding of the micro-foundations of the resource curse.
Description
Keywords
Natural resources, Resource curse, Corruption, Behavioral economics, Political economy, Tanzania
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Cappelen, A.W., Fjeldstad, O.H., Mmari, D. et al. 2021, 'Understanding the resource curse : a large-scale experiment on corruption in Tanzania', Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, vol. 183, pp. 129-157.