Do multinationals engage in rent-seeking behaviour in developing countries during crises? With a difference in discontinuity approach, we use the Ebola epidemic in Liberia as a natural experiment on the sharp increase in deforestation, which produced a dramatic growth in newly planted palm oil trees and a 1428% increase in palm oil exports. We show that the probability of forest fire - the fastest way to clear forests and start new production - increased by 125% in the same period. Both effects are amplified in areas populated by ethnic minorities.

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1 March 2022     Paper Number CEPDP1833

Download PDF - Epidemics and rapacity of multinational companies

This CEP discussion paper is published under the centre's Trade programme.