Mines-Rivers-Yields: Downstream Mining Impacts on Agriculture in Africa

Lukas Vashold, Gustav Pirich, Maximilian Heinze and Nikolas Kuschnig

No 368, Department of Economics Working Paper Series from WU Vienna University of Economics and Business

Abstract: Minerals are essential to fuel the green transition, can foster local employment and facilitate economic development. However, their extraction is linked to several negative social and environmental externalities. These are particularly poorly understood in a development context, undermining efforts to address and internalize them. In this paper, we exploit the discontinuous locations of mines along rivers and their basins to identify causal effects on agricultural yields in Africa. We find considerable impacts on vegetation and yields downstream, which are mediated by water pollution and only dissipate slowly with distance. Our findings suggest that pollution from mines may play a role in the limited adoption of intensive agriculture. They underscore an urgent need for domestic regulations and international governance to limit negative externalities from mining in vulnerable regions.

Keywords: pollution; agriculture; river basin; mining; earth observation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-agr, nep-dev, nep-ene and nep-env
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wiw:wus005:67404185

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