Investigating the impact of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

For more than half a century the development discourse concerning natural resources has emphasised that the extraction of non-renewable resources can severely impede social and economic progress. In the 1990's these developmental problems were further epitomised by the phenomenon coined the 'resource curse'. However, today, offering a more critical understanding of these associations, a policy-political trend labelled the extractives-led development agenda continues to perpetuate among international development agencies and institutions. Here arguments suggest that, with appropriately implemented governance and fiscal frameworks, governments can mitigate the negative externalities associated with the sector (such as corruption, conflict, and economic volatility). Although, in practice strategies commonly advocated and used for addressing these issues remain poorly understood. This thesis proposes to empirically examine the effects of popular fiscal and governance frameworks publicly implored through the extractives-led development agenda. Using econometric analysis, the thesis will investigate whether the widespread public adoption of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and Natural Resource Funds have offered effective strategies for building resistance and resilience against the purported causes of the resource curse.