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The public good dilemma of a non-renewable common resource: A look at the facts of artisanal gold mining

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  • Saldarriaga-Isaza, Adrián
  • Villegas-Palacio, Clara
  • Arango, Santiago

Abstract

Millions of people worldwide are involved in artisanal and small-scale gold mining. Many of them live in conditions of poverty and insalubrities due to the mercury amalgamation of gold and the application of other rudimentary techniques. In spite of this, the sector has been nearly overlooked by resource economists. In this paper we analyze the sector based on a survey of the existing literature. We find some commonalities of artisanal and small-scale gold mining in different countries of the developing world as follows: low levels of mechanization and technology, labor intensiveness, low awareness of environmental degradation, poor training, high transience among some miners, and lack of financial savings. Moreover, with these commonalities in mind, we present some topics and challenges for a research agenda in the field of environmental, ecological, and development economics.

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  • Saldarriaga-Isaza, Adrián & Villegas-Palacio, Clara & Arango, Santiago, 2013. "The public good dilemma of a non-renewable common resource: A look at the facts of artisanal gold mining," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 224-232.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:38:y:2013:i:2:p:224-232
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2013.02.001
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    1. Banda, Webby, 2023. "A proposed DEMATEL based framework for appraising challenges in the artisanal and small-scale mining sector," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
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    3. Spiegel, Samuel J. & Agrawal, Sumali & Mikha, Dino & Vitamerry, Kartie & Le Billon, Philippe & Veiga, Marcello & Konolius, Kulansi & Paul, Bardolf, 2018. "Phasing Out Mercury? Ecological Economics and Indonesia's Small-Scale Gold Mining Sector," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 1-11.
    4. Wisdom Akpalu & Ametefee K. Normanyo, 2016. "Gold mining pollution and the cost of private healthcare: The case of Ghana," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-121, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Sinan Erzurumlu, S. & Erzurumlu, Yaman O., 2015. "Sustainable mining development with community using design thinking and multi-criteria decision analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(P1), pages 6-14.
    6. Rodriguez, Luz A. & Pfaff, Alexander & Velez, Maria Alejandra, 2019. "Graduated stringency within collective incentives for group environmental compliance: Building coordination in field-lab experiments with artisanal gold miners in Colombia," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    7. Akpalu, Wisdom & Normanyo, Ametefee K., 2017. "Gold Mining Pollution and the Cost of Private Healthcare: The Case of Ghana," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 104-112.
    8. Yakovleva, Natalia & Vazquez-Brust, Diego Alfonso, 2018. "Multinational mining enterprises and artisanal small-scale miners: From confrontation to cooperation," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 52-62.
    9. Mnwana, Sonwabile & Bowman, Andrew, 2018. "Mine mechanisation and distributional conflict in rural South Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 227-237.
    10. Angelika Rettberg & Juan Camilo Cárdenas & Juan Felipe Ortiz-Riomalo, 2017. "Mismo recurso, diferentes conflictos: Un análisis de la relación entre oro, conflicto y criminalidad en seis departamentos colombianos," Documentos CEDE 15858, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    11. Fritz, Morgane M.C. & Maxson, Peter A. & Baumgartner, Rupert J., 2016. "The mercury supply chain, stakeholders and their responsibilities in the quest for mercury-free gold," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 177-192.
    12. Saldarriaga-Isaza, Adrian & Villegas-Palacio, Clara & Arango, Santiago, 2019. "Chipping in for a cleaner technology: Experimental evidence from a framed threshold public good game with students and artisanal miners," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 10-16.
    13. Magambo, Isaiah & Dikgang, Johane & Gelo, Dambala & Tregenna, Fiona, 2021. "Gold-Mining Pollution Exposure, Health Effects and Private Healthcare Expenditure in Tanzania," MPRA Paper 108800, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Saldarriaga-Isaza, Adrián & Villegas-Palacio, Clara & Arango, Santiago, 2015. "Phasing out mercury through collective action in artisanal gold mining: Evidence from a framed field experiment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 406-415.
    15. Wisdom Akpalu & Ametefee K. Normanyo, 2016. "Gold mining pollution and the cost of private healthcare: The case of Ghana," WIDER Working Paper Series 121, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    16. Saldarriaga-Isaza, Adrián & Arango, Santiago & Villegas-Palacio, Clara, 2015. "A behavioral model of collective action in artisanal and small-scale gold mining," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 98-109.
    17. Lala Safiatou Ouedraogo & Patrick Mundler, 2019. "Local Governance and Labor Organizations on Artisanal Gold Mining Sites in Burkina Faso," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-21, January.
    18. Mark L. Wilson & Elisha Renne & Carla Roncoli & Peter Agyei-Baffour & Emmanuel Yamoah Tenkorang, 2015. "Integrated Assessment of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana — Part 3: Social Sciences and Economics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-24, July.
    19. Satomi Kimijima & Masayuki Sakakibara & Masahiko Nagai, 2022. "Investigation of Long-Term Roving Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Activities Using Time-Series Sentinel-1 and Global Surface Water Datasets," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-13, May.
    20. Satomi Kimijima & Masayuki Sakakibara & Masahiko Nagai, 2021. "Detection of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Activities and Their Transformation Using Earth Observation, Nighttime Light, and Precipitation Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-12, October.

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