Debt, Structural Adjustment, and Biodiversity Loss: A Cross-National Analysis of Threatened Mammals and Birds

There has been increasing interest by social scientists in the cross-national determinants of environmental problems. One area of inquiry that has received little attention is biodiversity loss. We seek to address this gap in the literature by conducting a cross-national study of threatened mammals and birds in 2005. In doing so, we use negative binomial regression models for a sample of 65 nations to evaluate hypotheses drawn from several theoretical perspectives. We find substantial support for dependency theory that higher levels of debt service, structural adjustment, and primary sector exports are associated with higher numbers of threatened mammals and birds. We also find support for world polity theory that higher levels of non-governmental organizations are associated with lower numbers of threatened mammals and birds. We conclude with a discussion of the findings, some policy implications, and possible directions for future research.