IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bcu/greewp/greenwp08.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Dark Side of Batteries: Education, Fertility and Cobalt Mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Author

Listed:
  • Maurizio Malpede

Abstract

Being rich of crucial minerals might be a leading determinant of local economic development. On the other hand, intensive extraction might prove to negatively affect the health and wealth of people living close to mineral deposits and the surrounding environment. I examine the effects that local cobalt mining had on child labor and subsequently on fertility rates in the DRC by exploiting geographic variation of cobalt deposits prior to the boom of modern electric batteries and using both education attainment and fertility data. I find that the boom in cobalt mining led to a reduction in educational achievements of individuals who were between 6 and 14 at the time of the boom, and it was accompanied by higher fertility rates. Moreover, the analysis shows an initial improvement in wealth of households exposed to cobalt mining which however, disappears after seven years. The results are robust to spatial spillover effects and selective migration.

Suggested Citation

  • Maurizio Malpede, 2020. "The Dark Side of Batteries: Education, Fertility and Cobalt Mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo," GREEN Working Papers 08, GREEN, Centre for Research on Geography, Resources, Environment, Energy & Networks, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    • Handle: RePEc:bcu:greewp:greenwp08
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://repec.unibocconi.it/iefe/bcu/papers/GREEN_wp08.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fang Xia & Klaus Deininger, 2019. "Spillover Effects of Tobacco Farms on the Labor Supply, Education, and Health of Children: Evidence from Malawi," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1181-1202.
    2. Célestin Banza Lubaba Nkulu & Lidia Casas & Vincent Haufroid & Thierry De Putter & Nelly D. Saenen & Tony Kayembe-Kitenge & Paul Musa Obadia & Daniel Kyanika Wa Mukoma & Jean-Marie Lunda Ilunga & Tim , 2018. "Sustainability of artisanal mining of cobalt in DR Congo," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 1(9), pages 495-504, September.
    3. Joshua D. Angrist & Adriana D. Kugler, 2008. "Rural Windfall or a New Resource Curse? Coca, Income, and Civil Conflict in Colombia," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(2), pages 191-215, May.
    4. Eric V. Edmonds & Nina Pavcnik, 2005. "Child Labor in the Global Economy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(1), pages 199-220, Winter.
    5. David Atkin, 2016. "Endogenous Skill Acquisition and Export Manufacturing in Mexico," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(8), pages 2046-2085, August.
    6. Nicolas Berman & Mathieu Couttenier & Dominic Rohner & Mathias Thoenig, 2017. "This Mine Is Mine! How Minerals Fuel Conflicts in Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(6), pages 1564-1610, June.
    7. Sachs, J-D & Warner, A-M, 1995. "Natural Resource Abundance and Economic Growth," Papers 517a, Harvard - Institute for International Development.
    8. Matthias Doepke & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2005. "The Macroeconomics of Child Labor Regulation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(5), pages 1492-1524, December.
    9. Kathleen Beegle & Rajeev Dehejia & Roberta Gatti, 2009. "Why Should We Care About Child Labor?: The Education, Labor Market, and Health Consequences of Child Labor," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(4).
    10. Anja Benshaul-Tolonen, 2019. "Local Industrial Shocks and Infant Mortality," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(620), pages 1561-1592.
    11. Faber, Benjamin & Krause, Benjamin & Sánchez de la Sierra, Raúl, 2017. "Artisanal Mining, Livelihoods, and Child Labor in the Cobalt Supply Chain of the Democratic Republic of Congo," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt17m9g4wm, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    12. Kerwin Kofi Charles & Erik Hurst & Matthew J. Notowidigdo, 2018. "Housing Booms and Busts, Labor Market Opportunities, and College Attendance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(10), pages 2947-2994, October.
    13. Moshe Hazan & Binyamin Berdugo, 2002. "Child Labour, Fertility, and Economic Growth," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(482), pages 810-828, October.
    14. Gavin Hilson & Mark Hirons & Gavin Hilson, 2011. "Artisanal Mining, Smallholder Farming And Livelihood Diversification In Rural Sub‐Saharan Africa: An Introduction," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(8), pages 1031-1041, November.
    15. Oeindrila Dube & Juan F. Vargas, 2013. "Commodity Price Shocks and Civil Conflict: Evidence from Colombia," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 80(4), pages 1384-1421.
    16. Zvi Eckstein & Kenneth I. Wolpin, 1999. "Why Youths Drop Out of High School: The Impact of Preferences, Opportunities, and Abilities," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 67(6), pages 1295-1340, November.
    17. Thomas, Duncan & Beegle, Kathleen & Frankenberg, Elizabeth & Sikoki, Bondan & Strauss, John & Teruel, Graciela, 2004. "Education in a crisis," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 53-85, June.
    18. Jeroen Cuvelier, 2017. "Money, migration and masculinity among artisanal miners in Katanga (DR Congo)," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(152), pages 204-219, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Maurizio Malpede, 2022. "The Dark Side of Batteries: Child Labor and Cobalt Mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," GREEN Working Papers 22, GREEN, Centre for Research on Geography, Resources, Environment, Energy & Networks, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    2. Bladimir Carrillo, 2020. "Present Bias and Underinvestment in Education? Long-Run Effects of Childhood Exposure to Booms in Colombia," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(4), pages 1127-1265.
    3. Konte, Maty & Vincent, Rose Camille, 2021. "Mining and quality of public services: The role of local governance and decentralization," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    4. Kotsadam, Andreas & Tolonen, Anja, 2016. "African Mining, Gender, and Local Employment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 325-339.
    5. Camille Laville, 2018. "The econometrical causal analysis of internal conflicts: The evolutions of a growing literature [L’analyse économétrique des conflits internes par l’approche causale : les évolutions d’une littérat," Working Papers hal-01940461, HAL.
    6. Carolyn Chisadza & Matthew Clance & Rangan Gupta & Mark E. Wohar, 2024. "Giant oil discoveries and conflicts," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(6), pages 15681-15710, June.
    7. Maurizio Malpede, 2024. "Lithium-ion batteries and fertility in Africa," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(1), pages 1-31, March.
    8. Camille Laville, 2018. "The econometrical causal analysis of internal conflicts: The evolutions of a growing literature [L’analyse économétrique des conflits internes par l’approche causale : les évolutions d’une littérat," CERDI Working papers hal-01940461, HAL.
    9. Balza, Lenin & De Los Rios, Camilo & Rivera, Nathaly M., 2022. "Digging Deep: Resource Exploitation and Higher Education," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12451, Inter-American Development Bank.
    10. Catherine Guirkinger & Quentin Stoeffler, 2025. "New economic opportunities and children outcomes: negative effects of artisanal mines on primary education," DeFiPP Working Papers 2503, University of Namur, Development Finance and Public Policies.
    11. Elisa M. Maffioli, 2023. "The local health impacts of natural resource booms," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(2), pages 462-500, February.
    12. Mélanie Gittard & Irène Hu, 2024. "MiningLeaks Water Pollution and Child Mortality in Africa," PSE Working Papers halshs-04685390, HAL.
    13. 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.
    14. Matthias Doepke, "undated". "Origins and Consequences of Child Labor Restrictions: A Macroeconomic Perspective," UCLA Economics Online Papers 413, UCLA Department of Economics.
    15. Ang, James B. & Gupta, Satyendra Kumar, 2018. "Agricultural yield and conflict," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 397-417.
    16. Axbard, Sebastian & Benshaul-Tolonen, Anja & Poulsen, Jonas, 2021. "Natural resource wealth and crime: The role of international price shocks and public policy," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    17. Leila Pereira & Rafael Pucci, 2024. "A Tale of Gold and Blood: The Consequences of Market Deregulation on Local Violence," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2024_18, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    18. Laville,Camille & Mandon,Pierre Jean-Claude, 2023. "Internal Conflicts and Shocks. A Narrative Meta-Analysis," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10315, The World Bank.
    19. Millán-Quijano, Jaime & Pulgarín, Sebastián, 2023. "Oiling up the field. Forced internal displacement and the expansion of palm oil in Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    20. Nicolas Berman & Mathieu Couttenier & Dominic Rohner & Mathias Thoenig, 2017. "This Mine Is Mine! How Minerals Fuel Conflicts in Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(6), pages 1564-1610, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Child labor; education; fertility; cobalt mining; Democratic Republic of Congo;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products

    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:bcu:greewp:greenwp08. 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: Carlotta Milani (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/eabocit.html .

    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.