The World Bank and organized hypocrisy? A cross-national analysis of structural adjustment and forest loss

We analyze data for a sample of 61 low- and middle-income nations from 1990 to 2010 using ordinary least squares regression to test the ideas from the theory of organized hypocrisy. In doing so, we find support for the theory with the World Bank does not pursue a coherent lending agenda but rather different and contradictory agendas in terms of its structural adjustment lending. The results reveal that World Bank structural adjustment lending in the forestry and agricultural sectors is associated with higher rates of forest loss while World Bank structural adjustment lending in the environmental sector is associated with lower rates of forest loss. We conclude by talking about the theoretical implications, methodological implications, policy suggestions, and directions for future research.