Extractive resource policy and civil conflict: Evidence from mining reform in the Philippines

Benjamin Crost and Joseph H. Felter

Journal of Development Economics, 2020, vol. 144, issue C

Abstract: We estimate how a shift towards a more extractive resource policy, brought about by a regulatory reform of the mining sector, affected civil conflict in the Philippines. Our empirical strategy uses a difference-in-differences approach that compares provinces with and without mineral deposits before and after the reform. We find that the reform led to a large increase in conflict violence, most likely due to increased competition over control of resource-rich areas. The estimated welfare cost of this increase in violence is several orders of magnitude larger than the country's total revenue from taxes on mineral production.

Keywords: Natural resources; Minerals; Mining; Extractive policy; Reform; Civil conflict (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D74 H56 O13 Q34 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:144:y:2020:i:c:s0304387820300183

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102443

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