Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

The complex links between governance and biodiversity.

Christopher B Barrett1, Clark C Gibson, Barak Hoffman

  • 1Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. cbb2@cornell.edu

Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology
|September 28, 2006
PubMed
Summary

The link between corruption and natural resource exploitation is weakened by conceptual and methodological issues. Refined analysis shows corruption levels do not explain changes in forests or elephant populations when controlling for other factors.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Strategies for achieving healthy, sustainable, and equitable dietary transitions.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same author

Author Correction: Agrifood value chain employment and compensation shift with structural transformation.

Nature food·2026
Same author

Second best underestimates of malnutrition in an era of multiplying food crises.

Nature food·2025
Same author

US investment in African food systems will have global benefits.

Nature·2025
Same author

Climate rather than overgrazing explains most rangeland primary productivity change in Mongolia.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2025
Same author

Agrifood value chain employment and compensation shift with structural transformation.

Nature food·2025

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Political Science
  • Economics

Background:

  • Existing research suggests a link between corruption and natural resource exploitation.
  • However, the conceptualization and measurement of corruption in these studies are often oversimplified.
  • National-level corruption indicators may not capture the nuanced ways corruption impacts resource use.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically evaluate the conceptual and methodological weaknesses in studies linking corruption and natural resource exploitation.
  • To re-examine the findings of a prominent study on corruption, forest cover, and elephant populations.
  • To demonstrate how conceptual and methodological refinements affect the perceived relationship.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of corruption forms and levels.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Methodological critique of existing statistical models.
  • Re-analysis of data using refined statistical methods, including control variables and longitudinal data.
  • Incorporation of additional observations and estimation of changes rather than levels.

    • Main Results:

    • Corruption can manifest in various forms and at different levels, with diverse impacts on resource use (negative, positive, or neutral).
    • Simple, atheoretical models often omit crucial control variables.
    • After controlling for anthropogenic and biophysical factors and refining the analysis, corruption levels lost explanatory power regarding forest and elephant population changes.

    Conclusions:

    • The relationship between corruption and natural resource exploitation is complex and requires careful conceptualization and methodological rigor.
    • Previous findings linking corruption to resource depletion may not be robust.
    • Further research should employ sophisticated causal models and account for confounding variables.