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Petro Rents, Political Institutions, and Hidden Wealth: Evidence from Bank Deposits in Tax Havens

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  • J�rgen Juel Andersen
  • Niels Johannesen
  • David Dreyer Lassen
  • Elena Paltseva

Abstract

Do political institutions limit rent-seeking by politicians? To address this question, we study the transformation of petroleum rents into hidden wealth using unique data on bank deposits in tax havens. We find that petroleum rents are associated with increases in hidden wealth, but only when political institutions are very weak. We also discern an interesting interaction with political risk: events such as elections and domestic conflict are preceded by increases in hidden wealth when political institutions are weak, which is consistent with a view of autocratic rulers as forward-looking rent-seekers whose behavior is constrained by political checks and balances.

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  • J�rgen Juel Andersen & Niels Johannesen & David Dreyer Lassen & Elena Paltseva, 2013. "Petro Rents, Political Institutions, and Hidden Wealth: Evidence from Bank Deposits in Tax Havens," Working Papers No 7/2013, Centre for Applied Macro- and Petroleum economics (CAMP), BI Norwegian Business School.
    • Handle: RePEc:bny:wpaper:0016
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    Cited by:

    1. Beck, Thorsten & Poelhekke, Steven, 2023. "Follow the money: Does the financial sector intermediate natural resource windfalls?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    2. Alstadsæter, Annette & Johannesen, Niels & Zucman, Gabriel, 2018. "Who owns the wealth in tax havens? Macro evidence and implications for global inequality," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 89-100.
    3. Hebous, Shafik & Johannesen, Niels, 2021. "At your service! The role of tax havens in international trade with services," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    4. Bayer, Ralph-C. & Hodler, Roland & Raschky, Paul A. & Strittmatter, Anthony, 2020. "Expropriations, property confiscations and new offshore entities: Evidence from the Panama Papers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 132-152.
    5. Niels Johannesen & Tim Stolper, 2017. "The Deterrence Effect of Whistleblowing: An Event Study of Leaked Customer Information from Banks in Tax Havens," CESifo Working Paper Series 6784, CESifo.
    6. Ivar Kolstad, 2017. "Protected tax havens: Cornering the market through international reform?," CMI Working Papers 7, CMI (Chr. Michelsen Institute), Bergen, Norway.
    7. Vincent Bouvatier & Gunther Capelle-Blancard & Anne-Laure Delatte, 2017. "Banks Defy Gravity in Tax Havens," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-03101505, HAL.
    8. Niels Johannesen & Jukka Pirttilä, 2016. "Capital flight and development: An overview of concepts, methods, and data sources," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-95, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Carpantier, J.-F. & Vermeulen, W.N., 2018. "Emergence of sovereign wealth funds," Journal of Commodity Markets, Elsevier, vol. 11(C), pages 1-21.
    10. Thorsten Beck & Steven Poelhekke, 2017. "Follow the money: Does the Financial Sector Intermediate Natural Resource Windfalls?," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 17-027/VIII, Tinbergen Institute.
    11. Alejandro Esteller-Moré & Shafik Hebous & Niels Johannesen & Katarzyna Anna Bilicka, 2018. "The Present and Future of Tax Havens / El presente y futuro de los paraísos fiscales / El present i futur dels paradisos fiscals," IEB Reports ieb_report_4_2018, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    12. Divya Datt, 2016. "Inter-governmental political relations in a federation and illegal mining of natural resources," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 18(4), pages 557-576, October.
    13. Littke, Helge C. N., 2018. "Channeling the Iron Ore Super-Cycle: The role of regional bank branch networks in emerging markets," IWH Discussion Papers 11/2018, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    14. Niels Johannesen & Tim B.M. Stolper, 2017. "The Deterrence Effect of Whistleblowing – An Event Study of Leaked Customer Information from Banks in Tax Havens," Working Papers tax-mpg-rps-2017-04_2, Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance.
    15. Niels Johannesen & Tim B.M. Stolper, 2021. "The Deterrence Effect of Whistleblowing," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(4), pages 821-855.
    16. Asiamah, Oliver & Agyei, Samuel Kwaku & Bossman, Ahmed & Agyei, Ellen Animah & Asucam, Joseph & Arku-Asare, Michael, 2022. "Natural resource dependence and institutional quality: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    17. Niels Johannesen & Jukka Pirttilä, 2016. "Capital flight and development: An overview of concepts, methods, and data sources," WIDER Working Paper Series 095, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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