Chinese anti-corruption campaign linked to lower illegal rhino horn prices in Vietnam

New study: Wildlife protection laws and tougher penalties have long been among the key tools used to combat the illegal trade in rhino horn. A new study shows that broader governance measures can shape illegal wildlife markets across borders.
[Translate to English:] Næsehorn (Unsplash)

For many years, organized transnational criminal networks have been involved in the illegal rhino horn trade. When poaching peaked in the mid-2010s, more than 1,300 rhinos were killed in Africa in a single year. Their horns were sawn off and sold on the Asian black market. At times, rhino horns have been valued at a higher price per kilogram than gold. Historical estimates have put rhino horn prices as high as around US$65,000 per kilogram. 

In China and Vietnam, rhino horn is sought after for uses including traditional medicine, as an expensive gift and status symbol, and, in China, as an antique and collectable. 

Efforts have included protecting rhinos in Africa, combating illegal trade networks, introducing stricter legislation in Asian consumer countries and running demand-reduction campaigns. But new findings about what work have produced a surprising result. 

Pieces of rhino horn for sale in Vietnam (Credit: Dang Vu Hoai Nam)

Twenty years of price data from an illegal market

In a new study published in the Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, researchers from the University of Copenhagen, the University of Iceland and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy examine how government policies in China and Vietnam affected illegal rhino horn prices in Vietnam over a 20-year period. 

Although substantial resources have been invested in protecting rhinos in Africa and strengthening wildlife protection legislation in Asian consumer countries, the study indicates that some of the main factors influencing the illegal market may originate elsewhere. 

“Changes in Chinese policy may have a significant effect on illegal market prices in Vietnam. By contrast, we find no significant statistical association between tougher sanctions in Vietnam and rhino horn prices,” says Associate Professor Martin Reinhardt Nielsen from the Department of Food and Resource Economics at the University of Copenhagen. 

The study’s lead author, Dang Vu Hoai Nam from the University of Iceland, emphasizes that illegal wildlife markets do not stop at national borders: “What happens in China can affect prices in Vietnam and may thereby alter the economic incentives surrounding poaching in Africa.” 

Anti-corruption campaign restricts officials’ access to expensive gifts 

Illegal markets are notoriously difficult to study because transactions are often concealed and reliable information about the prices of illegal goods is scarce. The new study, however, has made it possible to examine how major policy changes in China and Vietnam are associated with systematic changes in illegal market prices. 

One of the strongest associations with price developments in Vietnam was the implementation of an anti-corruption campaign in China. The campaign limited officials’ ability to receive expensive gifts and consume luxury goods. Of the policy measures examined, China’s anti-corruption campaign had the strongest statistical association with rhino horn prices in Vietnam. 

“This is interesting because China’s anti-corruption campaign was not primarily a wildlife conservation policy. Nevertheless, it appears to have affected the rhino horn market more markedly than legislation specifically designed to combat illegal consumption,” says Associate Professor Frank Jensen from the Department of Food and Resource Economics at the University of Copenhagen. 

Rhino horn for sale in Hanoi (Credit: Dang Vu Hoai Nam)

Wildlife conservation across borders

The researchers’ findings suggest that international wildlife conservation efforts should not focus solely on the country where an illegal product happens to be sold or seized. Instead, policies to combat the illegal wildlife trade should reflect how the rhino horn market works. 

Vietnam is both a consumer country and an important transit country for illegal rhino horn trade to China. The findings therefore suggest that policies affecting gift-giving and luxury consumption in China may influence prices in other countries within the trade network. 

“If we want to reduce the incentives driving the illegal rhino horn trade, we need to understand where demand originates and which institutions and policies actually influence consumer behaviour,” says Associate Professor Martin Reinhardt Nielsen. 

Read the publication https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8489.70152.

About the study

In the study, “The Price of a Horn: How Governance and Policy Shape an Illegal Wildlife Market”, the researchers reconstructed a 2001-2020 series of illegal retail prices in Vietnam from interviews with 148 Vietnamese consumers about their previous rhino horn purchase. They then compared the prices with information on policy changes in China and Vietnam, Chinese GDP growth, and the number of rhinos poached in Africa. Among other things, the analysis assumes that the illegal rhino horn markets in China and Vietnam are closely integrated.

The study was authored by Dang Vu Hoai Nam from the University of Iceland and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, and Frank Jensen and Martin Reinhardt Nielsen from the Department of Food and Resource Economics at the University of Copenhagen.

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