Do “Resource‐Cursed States” Have Lower Levels of Social and Institutional Trust? Evidence from Africa and Latin America

Abstract

Objective This study examines whether a state's abundance of natural resource wealth, such as oil or gas, leads to lower levels of social and institutional trust than in countries that are not as “cursed” with resources. Methods To test this we use survey data from both the Afrobarometer survey (2008–2009) and comparable data on Latin America from the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP), using 44 countries, as well as subnational data from two large oil‐producing countries (Nigeria and Mexico). Results Using multilevel logit analysis we find that individuals in countries that are oil and gas producers are less likely to exhibit high levels of social or institutional trust than individuals in countries that are not oil or gas producers. However, when examining oil‐producing regions within Nigeria and Mexico, we find that individuals in such regions tend to express relatively higher levels of individual social and institutional trust than regions that are not oil producers. Conclusion These findings can be explained by the differential effects of oil and gas wealth—at the national level, oil and gas wealth promotes corruption and a general erosion of both institutional and interpersonal trust, especially for those who live in regions that do not directly benefit from oil and gas revenues. However, in regions within countries, people who reside in such regions are more likely to directly benefit from the economic spoils and patronage derived from resource revenues.

Perceived organizational politics and quitting plans: an examination of the buffering roles of relational and organizational resources

“…As noted in a recent study that discusses organizational decision making in companies that operate in the same sector in Angola, which also has the same cultural (i.e., Portuguese) heritage as Mozambique, "the internal rivalry and strict hierarchical structures that mark these companies […] create variations among employees in terms of their ability to move up the corporate ladder" (De Clercq and Pereira, 2020: p. 6). Because organizations in this sector tend to be rigid and highly formalized, organizational politicization, as a tactic to circumvent red tape and speed up decision making, may be a likely phenomenon (Ishiyama et al, 2018;Pinkse and Gasbarro, 2019;Silvestre et al, 2018). 1 Our single industry focus also diminishes the difficulties that tend to arise in multi-industry studies, in which it is impossible to capture relevant industry factors, such as those that influence employees' ability to find alternative employment (Virga et al, 2017).…”

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and trust in politicians

“…Miller (2015) further highlights that these positive economic benefits should increase trust in public leaders given that the economy is an important determinant of political trust. However, f ollowing the predictions of the Pearl Hypothesis, empirical research now shows that public distrust is more likely to form in countries engaged in extracting natural resources ( Kolstad andWigg, 2012 andIshiyama et al, 2018).…”

“…The Pearl Hypothesis argues that the pressure of socially dysfunctional political behaviour, caused by the contestation of natural resource wealth, can negatively affect trust in societies. While empirical research has continued to improve our understanding of the formation of political distrust surrounding natural resources (particularly noting the exacerbating effects of conflict and corruption), it also highlights that limited evidence exists concerning how public policies might support statesociety relations affected by this issue (Ishiyama et al, 2018;Acemoglu et al, 2018;and Armand et al, 2019). This paper aims to start to address this gap in the literature by examining the role of a leading and long-standing international transparency scheme in the extractives sector, known as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), in helping to build trust in politicians.…”

Social identity, confidence in institutions, and youth: Evidence from the Arab Spring

“…The authors found that a “downgrade episode,” defined as a failure of the government to save its nation from a crisis, is linked to a higher probability of mistrust in institutions. Moreover, individuals in oil‐ and gas‐producing nations are less likely to have high social or institutional trust levels than individuals in nonproducing countries (Ishiyama, Martinez, and Ozsut 2018). This is mainly because people fear that the abundance of oil and gas will encourage corruption.…”