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Resource Cursed or Policy Cursed? US Regulation of Conflict Minerals and Violence in the Congo

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  • Dominic P. Parker
  • Bryan Vadheim

Abstract

There is widespread belief that civil conflict in poorly governed countries is triggered by surging international demand for their natural resources. We study the consequences of US legislation grounded in this belief, the "conflict minerals" section of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. Targeting the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, it cuts funding to warlords by discouraging manufacturers from sourcing tin, tungsten, and tantalum from the region. Building from Mancur Olson's stationary bandit metaphor, we describe some channels through which the legislation could backfire, inciting violence. Using georeferenced data, we find the legislation increased looting of civilians and shifted militia battles toward unregulated gold-mining territories. These findings are a cautionary tale about the possible unintended consequences of imposing boycotts, trade embargoes, and resource certification schemes on war-torn regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Dominic P. Parker & Bryan Vadheim, 2017. "Resource Cursed or Policy Cursed? US Regulation of Conflict Minerals and Violence in the Congo," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(1), pages 1-49.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jaerec:doi:10.1086/689865
    DOI: 10.1086/689865
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    Cited by:

    1. Lu, Yifan & Yamazaki, Satoshi, 2023. "Fish to fight: Does catching more fish increase conflicts in Indonesia?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    2. Schütte, Philip, 2019. "International mineral trade on the background of due diligence regulation: A case study of tantalum and tin supply chains from East and Central Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 674-689.
    3. Jeffrey R. Bloem, 2023. "Good Intentions Gone Bad? The Dodd-Frank Act and Conflict in Africa’s Great Lakes Region," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 71(2), pages 621-666.
    4. Jaimes, Richard & Gerlagh, Reyer, 2020. "Resource-richness and economic growth in contemporary U.S," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Sun, Xiaohua & Ren, Junlin & Wang, Yun, 2022. "The impact of resource taxation on resource curse: Evidence from Chinese resource tax policy," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Dagnelie, Olivier & Luca, Giacomo Davide De & Maystadt, Jean-François, 2018. "Violence, selection and infant mortality in Congo," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 153-177.
    7. Julika Herzberg & Oliver Lorz, 2020. "Sourcing from conflict regions: Policies to improve transparency in international supply chains," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 395-407, May.
    8. Hanai, Kazuyo, 2021. "Conflict minerals regulation and mechanism changes in the DR Congo," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    9. Zuo, Na & Zhong, Hua, 2020. "Can resource policy reverse the resource curse? Evidence from China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    10. Calel, Raphael & Colmer, Jonathan & Dechezlepretre, Antoine & Glachant, Matthieu, 2021. "Do carbon offsets offset carbon?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113849, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Stoop, Nik & Verpoorten, Marijke & van der Windt, Peter, 2019. "Artisanal or industrial conflict minerals? Evidence from Eastern Congo," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 660-674.
    12. Crost, Benjamin & Felter, Joseph H., 2020. "Extractive resource policy and civil conflict: Evidence from mining reform in the Philippines," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    13. Jeffrey R. Bloem, 2019. "Good Intentions Gone Bad? The Dodd-Frank Act and Conflict in Africa’s Great Lakes Region," HiCN Working Papers 300, Households in Conflict Network.
    14. Matata Ponyo Mapon & Jean-Paul K. Tsasa, 2019. "The artefact of the Natural Resources Curse," Papers 1911.09681, arXiv.org.
    15. Nik Stoop & Marijke Verpoorten & Peter van der Windt, 2018. "More Legislation, More Violence? The Impact of Dodd-Frank in the DRC," SALDRU Working Papers 231, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    16. HIGASHIDA Keisaku & MURAKAMI Shinsuke & SHINKUMA Takayoshi, 2022. "Effect of Trade Restrictive Provisions with Due-diligence on Bilateral Trade Flows: The case of the US regulation on conflict minerals," Discussion papers 22054, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    17. Dominic P. Parker & Jeremy D. Foltz & David Elsea, 2016. "Unintended consequences of economic sanctions for human rights: Conflict minerals and infant mortality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," WIDER Working Paper Series 124, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    18. Heath Milsom, Luke & Roland, Isabelle, 2021. "Minimum wages and the China syndrome: causal evidence from US local labor markets," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113850, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    19. Michael Addaney & Emma Charlene Lubaale, 2021. "An Unintended Legacy: The External Policy Responses of the USA and European Union to Conflict Minerals in Africa," Laws, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-17, June.
    20. Mittelberg, Tara & Skidmore, Marin & Gibbs, Holly, 2023. "Relationship Between the ``Forced Labor Dirty List'' and Agricultural Transactions in Brazil," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335743, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    21. Federica Cappelli & Caterina Conigliani & Davide Consoli & Valeria Costantini & Elena Paglialunga, 2023. "Climate change and armed conflicts in Africa: temporal persistence, non-linear climate impact and geographical spillovers," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 40(2), pages 517-560, July.
    22. Gudrun Franken & Philip Schütte, 2022. "Current trends in addressing environmental and social risks in mining and mineral supply chains by regulatory and voluntary approaches," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 35(3), pages 653-671, December.
    23. Mario Krauser, 2020. "In the Eye of the Storm: Rebel Taxation of Artisanal Mines and Strategies of Violence," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 64(10), pages 1968-1993, November.
    24. Guimbeau, Amanda & Ji, Xinde James & Menon, Nidhiya & Rodgers, Yana van der Meulen, 2023. "Mining and women’s agency: Evidence on acceptance of domestic violence and shared decision-making in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).

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