American Economic Review Vol. 107 No. 6 2017

This Mine is Mine! How Minerals Fuel Conflicts in Africa

Nicolas Berman¹; Mathieu Couttenier²; Dominic Rohner³; Mathias Thoenig³

¹ Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, EHESS, Centrale Marseille, AMSE, Graduate Institute Geneva, and CEPR (e-mail: ) · ² University of Geneva (previously: University of Lausanne) (e-mail: ) · ³ Department of Economics, University of Lausanne, and CEPR (e-mail: )

Abstract

We combine georeferenced data on mining extraction of 14 minerals with information on conflict events at spatial resolution of 0.5 o × 0.5 o for all of Africa between 1997 and 2010. Exploiting exogenous variations in world prices, we find a positive impact of mining on conflict at the local level. Quantitatively, our estimates suggest that the historical rise in mineral prices (commodity super-cycle) might explain up to one-fourth of the average level of violence across African countries over the period. We then document how a fighting group's control of a mining area contributes to escalation from local to global violence. Finally, we analyze the impact of corporate practices and transparency initiatives in the mining industry.

DOI

10.1257/aer.20150774

Volume

107

Issue

6

Pages

1564-1610

Language

en

Sources

bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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