The Dark Side of Batteries: Child Labor and Cobalt Mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Maurizio Malpede

No 22, GREEN Working Papers from GREEN, Centre for Research on Geography, Resources, Environment, Energy & Networks, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy

Abstract: This paper provides evidence that the rapid increase in the demand for lithium-ion batteries has reduced the education rates of individuals living in cobalt-rich regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In contrast with other minerals, I find that children in cobalt-mining villages are more likely to work outside their domestic environment and less likely to be in school. I also show that children exposed to cobalt mining are associated with lower cognitive and physical development. These results were obtained by exploiting the exogenous geographic variation of cobalt deposits before the sharp increase in the worldwide demand for cobalt-based electric batteries and using individual education attainment data. These findings suggest that the lower educational achievement of children living in cobalt-rich communities of the DRC is caused not only by a lack of solid child labor regulations (CLRs) but also by a mining industry that generates pollution.

Keywords: Lithium-ion Batteries; Cobalt Mining; Child Labour (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I25 J13 O13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 70
Date: 2022
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