Artisanal mining in Africa. Green for Gold?

• 成果类型: Article; Early Access
• 署名作者: Girard, Victoire; Molina-Millan, Teresa; Vic, Guillaume
• 署名单位: Universidade Nova de Lisboa; Universite de Orleans; Universitat d'Alacant; IZA Institute Labor Economics; Bureau de Recherches Geologiques et Minieres (BRGM)
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1093/ej/ueaf058
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: economic-growth; deforestation; migration; shocks; livelihoods; population; conflicts; forest; mines

摘要

The livelihoods of 130 to 270 million people depend on artisanal mining. Artisanal mining is a labour-intensive, often illegal, extractive activity. We combine geological knowledge and a source of exogenous temporal variation to construct the first proxy for artisanal gold mining in Africa-the main form of artisanal mining. We establish that an increase in the potential value of artisanal mining is a significant driver of deforestation. The historical increase in the gold price accounts for 8% of forest loss across the continent and, within the subset of gold-suitable areas, 28 %. In parallel, artisanal mining increases local economic wealth and may provide an alternative livelihood should a weather shock jeopardise agricultural output. Finally, mining-induced deforestation seems rooted more in the direct clearing of trees for the activity than in indirect deforestation triggered by increased local demand.