International Research Trends on the Impact of Corruption on Environmental Policy Effects

Corruption has negative externalities, especially in the environmental arena. Based on 35 SSCI empirical research articles from 1991 to 2018, this study sorts out the relationship between government corruption and effect of environmental policy, particularly focus on its causal dynamics. The study shows that in addition to the direct impact of corruption on effect of environmental policy, scholars also pay attention to the mediation and moderator variables such as per capita GDP, per capita income, environmental policy quality, legal norms, and civic participation. Further analysis finds that citizen participation is conducive to enhance the effect of environmental policies in the more developed countries and regions. Countries and regions with relatively low economic development, the quality of environmental policy itself and the effect of government governance are more important. In order to improve environmental quality, decision-makers have to take appropriate measures based on the level of economic development and institutional background of each country on the basis of commitment to controlling corruption and improving environmental regulations. Understanding these research fields and their characteristics is essential for future research on environmental policy effects.