IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jrpoli/v69y2020ics0301420720308552.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An analysis of Zimbabwe's comparative advantage in the beneficiation and value addition of minerals

Author

Listed:
  • Mamina, Mathew T.
  • Maganga, Rutendo
  • Dzwiti, Kudakwashe

Abstract

Over the past decade, Zimbabwe has implemented various policies in the form of export tariffs and embargoes to stimulate downstream mineral beneficiation. The policies failed to yield tangible results due to, among other factors, inadequate due diligence regarding the capability of the country in terms of its factor endowments to support downstream beneficiation. Additionally, lack of Investment in the country's downstream industries as reflected in its capital stock contributed significantly to poor domestic demand for raw materials. In light of the above, different studies have established that there are few examples where mineral beneficiation oriented policies have yielded positive results in mineral-rich countries. The reasons for failure include lack of comparative advantage and economic viability of the technologies adopted. Related studies have also shown that the similarity of factor intensities and technology across sectors stimulates structural transformation in developing countries. This paper uses the factor endowment approach to evaluate Zimbabwe's comparative advantage in the downstream beneficiation of minerals. The country's arable land, physical capital stock and human capital are used as a measure of its capability to produce beneficiated products along the mineral value chain. By matching Zimbabwe's arable land, capital stock and human capital to the revealed factor intensities for different products, the mineral related products that the country has a comparative advantage in producing are identified and presented.

Suggested Citation

  • Mamina, Mathew T. & Maganga, Rutendo & Dzwiti, Kudakwashe, 2020. "An analysis of Zimbabwe's comparative advantage in the beneficiation and value addition of minerals," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:69:y:2020:i:c:s0301420720308552
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101823
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420720308552
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101823?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ricardo Hausmann & Bailey Klinger & Robert Lawrence & Arne Nagengast, 2008. "Examining Beneficiation," CID Working Papers 162, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    2. Hailay Gebretinsae Beyene, 2014. "Trade Integration and Revealed Comparative Advantages of Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America & Caribbean Merchandise Export," The International Trade Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(5), pages 411-441, December.
    3. Albert O. Hirschman, 1968. "The Political Economy of Import-Substituting Industrialization in Latin America," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 82(1), pages 1-32.
    4. Mutandwa, Bright & Genc, Bekir, 2018. "Leveraging Zimbabwe's mineral endowment for economic transformation and human development," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 230-239.
    5. Richard Newfarmer & Martha Denisse Pierola, 2015. "Trade in Zimbabwe," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 21985.
    6. Alain McLaren & Meysut Saygili & Miho Shirotori, 2018. "Revealed Factor Intensity of Products: Insights from a New Database," UNCTAD Blue Series Papers 81, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    7. Farrokh Langdana & Peter T. Murphy, 2014. "International Trade and Global Macropolicy," Springer Texts in Business and Economics, Springer, edition 127, number 978-1-4614-1635-7, July.
    8. Miho Shirotori & Bolormaa Tumurchudur & Olivier Cadot, 2010. "Revealed Factor Intensity Indices at the Product Level," UNCTAD Blue Series Papers 44, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Andri Budhiman Firmanto & Dermawan Wibisono & Manahan Parlindungan Saragih Siallagan & Mohammad Zaki Mubarok, 2025. "A strategic evaluation of Indonesia’s policy on mineral value addition," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 38(2), pages 287-318, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Binoy Goswami & Hiranya K. Nath, 2021. "India'S Revealed Comparative Advantages In Merchandise Trade With Country Groups At Different Levels Of Development," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 39(2), pages 377-397, April.
    2. Alexis Habiyaremye & Evans Mupela, 2019. "How effective is local beneficiation policy in enhancing rural income and employment? The case of agro-processing beneficiation in Tzaneen, South Africa," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 34(4), pages 329-345, June.
    3. Waterbury, John, 1999. "The Long Gestation and Brief Triumph of Import-Substituting Industrialization," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 323-341, February.
    4. Bahar, Dany & Hausmann, Ricardo & Hidalgo, Cesar A., 2014. "Neighbors and the evolution of the comparative advantage of nations: Evidence of international knowledge diffusion?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 111-123.
    5. Regolo, Julie, 2013. "Export diversification: How much does the choice of the trading partner matter?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 329-342.
    6. Mauro Boianovsky, 2010. "A View from the Tropics: Celso Furtado and the Theory of Economic Development in the 1950s," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 42(2), pages 221-266, Summer.
    7. Lee, Yong Suk, 2018. "International isolation and regional inequality: Evidence from sanctions on North Korea," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 34-51.
    8. Gnidchenko, A., 2016. "Import Substitution in Russian Industry: Current Situation and Prospects," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 32(4), pages 154-161.
    9. Gnidchenko, A., 2025. "World trade concentration and product market segregation," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 66(1), pages 36-53.
    10. Pavel Kadochnikov, 2006. "An Analysis of Import Substitution in Russia after the 1998 Crisis," Research Paper Series, Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, issue 95, pages 148-148.
    11. Scartascini, Carlos & Tommasi, Mariano & Ardanaz, Martín, 2010. "Political Institutions, Policymaking, and Economic Policy in Latin America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 1708, Inter-American Development Bank.
    12. Olatunji Abdul Shobande, 2019. "Effect of Economic Integration on Agricultural Export Performance in Selected West African Countries," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-14, August.
    13. Daisuke Oyama & Yasuhiro Sato & Takatoshi Tabuchi & Jacques‐François Thisse, 2011. "On the impact of trade on the industrial structures of nations," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 7(1), pages 93-109, March.
    14. Vilas Pathikonda & Thomas Farole, 2017. "The Capabilities Driving Participation in Global Value Chains," Journal of International Commerce, Economics and Policy (JICEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 8(01), pages 1-26, February.
    15. Kartika, Dwintha Maya, 2014. "The Big Push: Early Development Economics (1945-1975)," MPRA Paper 72115, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Savona, María, 2016. "Global structural change and value chains in services: a reappraisal," Coediciones, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 43200.
    17. Andy Sumner, 2019. "Global Poverty and Inequality: Change and Continuity in Late Development," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 50(2), pages 410-425, March.
    18. Haroon Bhorat & Chris Rooney & François Steenkamp, 2019. "Building Economic Complexity in Africa," Working Papers idrcdprusynthesis, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    19. Amrita Chhachhi & Emre Özçelik, 2014. "Albert O. Hirschman: A ‘Beamish’ Social Scientist for Our Grandchildren," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 45(5), pages 1111-1133, September.
    20. Lectard, Pauline & Rougier, Eric, 2018. "Can Developing Countries Gain from Defying Comparative Advantage? Distance to Comparative Advantage, Export Diversification and Sophistication, and the Dynamics of Specialization," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 90-110.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:69:y:2020:i:c:s0301420720308552. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30467 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.