Influence of Extractive Revenue Disclosure on Control of Corruption: Are EITI implementers better than non-EITI-implementing counterparts?

Corruption draws attention to the accountability practices of governments, especially as the prohibition of corruption within the public sector is ostensibly perceived as the foundation for minimising private sector corruption. This study examines the real effect of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and whether enlisting and implementing EITI standards over time translates into improved control of corruption in natural resource rich countries. Specifically, we investigate whether EITI membership makes a difference in terms of the control of corruption and whether the control of corruption in EITI-implementing countries declines with increased EITI implementation experience relative to pair-matched non-EITI-implementing countries. On the basis of 1,493 country-year observations for the period 2003 to 2017 across 111 natural resource rich countries, we find that EITI membership status on its own does not lead to improved control of corruption. However, our findings show that EITI implementation experience over time translates into improved control of corruption for EITI implementers compared to their matched non-EITI-implementing counterparts. Hence, for developing countries, joining the EITI appears to signal a commitment to reducing corruption, and the perception of corruption reduces with increasing experience. These findings are novel and in certain respects confirm the expectations underlying the establishment of the EITI