Abstract
Does oil corrupt? We test this theory using forty years of U.S. state-level data measuring corruption as both convictions of corruption and the frequency that words like “corrupt”, “fraud”, and “bribe”—and their iterations—appear in newspapers. We find that oil-rich U.S. states experience more corruption than their oil-poor counterparts, but only during periods of high oil prices, suggesting a causal relationship. Results are robust to a variety of modeling assumptions and specifications. Implications and mechanisms are discussed.
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Publication reference
James, A., & Rivera, N. M. (2022). Oil, politics, and “Corrupt Bastards.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 111, 102599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102599