94 UNU-WIDER articles, publications, projects, experts...
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Do elites capture foreign aid?Does foreign aid end up in the pockets of elites instead of contributing to inclusive economic development?...
Corruption Foreign aid Wealth inequalityBlog
Could the war in Ukraine encourage Western leaders to finally deal with shadow finance?
' I say to the Russian oligarchs and the corrupt leaders who bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime: no more… We are coming for your ill-begotten gains.' – Joe Biden at the 1 March 2022, State of the Union Address One...
CorruptionBlog
From offshore oil to offshore finance: How tax havens facilitate corruption in the extractive industriesIn many countries, news of an oil discovery or the award of an exploration license is rarely greeted with enthusiasm by the general public...
Energy Corruption Tax avoidanceWorking Paper
Corruption and crisis: do institutions matter?While the short-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on lives and livelihoods are well understood, we know little about the effect of the pandemic for longer-term outcomes such as corruption...
Corruption Institutions CrisisWorking Paper
Countering global oil theft: responses and solutionsThis second of two papers on global oil theft discusses ways to reduce oil theft, misappropriation, and fraud. At US$133 billion per year, oil is the largest stolen natural resource globally, while fuel is the most smuggled natural resource...
Oil Fuel CorruptionWorking Paper
Global oil theft: impact and policy responsesThis paper, the first of two on global oil theft and fraud, discusses the prevalence, methods, and consequences of global oil theft, valued at US$133 billion per year and equivalent to 5–7 per cent of the global market for crude oil and petrole...
Oil Fuel CorruptionWorking Paper
Incorporation of offshore shell companies as an indicator of corruption risk in the extractive industriesWe show that the incorporation of offshore entities increases when oil and gas exploration licences are awarded...
Oil Extractives Natural resourcesSeminar

Working Paper
Clientelism, public goods provision, and governanceIt is widely believed that clientelism—the giving of material goods in return for electoral support—is associated with poorer development outcomes...
Clientelism Development Benefit programmesJournal Article
The corruption–growth relationship: Does the political regime matter?Corruption is widely believed to have an adverse effect on the economic performance of a country...
Corruption Democracy Economic growthBlog
Why do we see boom-and-bust growth in fragile and conflict-affected states?
One of the most pressing challenges in development policy is to bring about rapid, sustained, and inclusive growth in developing countries...
Fragile states Conflict Economic growthBlog
Clientelism – another reason to worry about US democracy
The last several months have given us many reasons to worry about US democracy – not least the riot at the US Capitol and the president’s refusal to accept the results of the November election, with Republican support. Rachel Gisselquist ...
Clientelism United States CorruptionWorking Paper
Inequality, institutions, and cooperationWe examine the effects of randomly introduced economic inequality on voluntary cooperation, and whether this relationship is influenced by the quality of local institutions, as proxied by corruption...
Inequality Institutions CorruptionWorking Paper
Corruption and assortative matching of partners in international tradeWhile the effects of corruption on bilateral trade have been relatively well explored, its effect on the composition of trading partners has not been studied...
Corruption international bribery International tradeJournal Article
How does petty corruption affect tax morale in sub-Saharan Africa?Revenues from taxation gain in importance to finance economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa. One obstacle to enhancing the willingness to remit taxes can be the extortion of bribes by public officials...
Corruption Tax Economic developmentSeminar
Stéphane Straub on voting corrupt politicians out of office? Evidence from a survey experiment in ParaguayStéphane Straub will present at the WIDER Seminar Series on 13 November 2019. Abstract – Voting corrupt politicians out of office? Evidence from a survey experiment in Paraguay This paper challenges the conventional wisdom that giving...