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Sammanfattning

This study investigates the relationship between the changes in value of a country’s natural resources and changes in political corruption. It specifically focuses on how different types of non-renewable resources can affect corruption differently. Using panel data from 1995 to 2020 covering nearly all countries worldwide, the analysis is conducted using fixed-effects regressions. The regressions are divided into two main groups - one covering a global sample and the other one focusing on African countries -, each containing separate regressions for individual resources. The political corruption index serves as the dependent variable, while various natural resources are included as independent variables. To isolate the effect of resource wealth, several control variables are used. These cover economic, demographic, social and institutional factors and are represented by GDP per capita, Foreign direct investments (FDI), Agriculture’s share of GDP, Human development index (HDI) and Rule of law. The results reveal a few statistically significant relationships at the global level, while several more significant effects are observed within the African sample. Moreover, the coefficients for Africa are notably larger compared to those at the global level. These findings suggest that the correlation between changes in natural resources and changes in political corruption may be more complex and context-dependent. In regions with weaker institutional frameworks, the so-called resource curse and rent seeking behaviour appear more prominent. The results underscore the importance of distinguishing between types of resources and geographical contexts when analyzing the complex relationship between natural wealth and governance.