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DECRG Kuala Lumpur Seminar Series: The Local Impact of Mining on Poverty and Inequality
April 7, 2016DECRG Kuala Lumpur Seminar Series

Abstract: This paper studies the impact of mining activity on socioeconomic outcomes in local communities. For this purpose, it uses evidence from the recent mining boom in Peru. In the 1990s and 2000s, the value of Peruvian mining exports grew by fifteen times; and since early 2000s, one-half of fiscal revenues from mining have been devolved to local governments. Has this boom benefitted people in local communities? We present preliminary evidence to answer this question. Mining districts have larger consumption per capita and lower poverty rates than otherwise similar districts. However, these positive impacts decrease drastically with administrative and geographic distance from mining centers. Moreover, consumption inequality within mining districts is higher than in comparable nonproducing districts. This dual effect of mining is partially accounted for by the better educated immigrants required and attracted by mining activity. The inequalizing impact of mining, both across and within districts, may help explain the social discontent with mining in Peru, despite its enormous revenues.


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  • Norman Loayza

    Lead Economist, Development Research Group
    Norman Loayza is a Lead Economist in the Development Economics Research Group at the World Bank. Recently, he was director of the World Development Report 2014, Risk and Opportunity: Managing Risk for Development. His research has dealt with various areas of economic and social development, including macroeconomic management, economic growth, microeconomic flexibility, private and public saving, financial depth and stability, natural disasters, and crime and violence. His advisory experience at the World Bank has also ranged across different topics in various regions and countries. A few examples include business environment and economic performance in Latin America; informal and labor markets in the Middle East and Northern Africa; public infrastructure gaps in Pakistan and Egypt; savings for macroeconomic stability and growth in Sri Lanka, Georgia, and Egypt; and pro-poor growth in Indonesia and Peru. On external service from the World Bank, he was a Senior Economist at the Central Bank of Chile (1999-2000), where he advised on financial and monetary policy. Norman has edited 9 books and published about 40 papers in professional journals and edited volumes. A Peruvian national, he holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University (1994).

  • Jamele Rigolini

    Program Leader for Human Development and Poverty, Human Development Network
    Jamele Rigolini is the World Bank Program Leader for Human Development and Poverty for Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. His areas of expertise include social protection, human development, labor markets, poverty, gender and entrepreneurship/innovation policies. Prior to joining the World Bank, he was an assistant professor of economics at the University of Warwick (UK). He also worked for the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and McKinsey & Co. At the World Bank, he worked in the East Asia and Pacific region, where he managed lending projects and advisory activities in the areas of labor markets and social protection. He also managed the World Bank’s flagship reports for Latin America and maintained close dialogue with other international organizations, as well as with Latin American academic institutions and think tanks. Jamele Rigolini holds a degree in physics from the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich and a Ph.D. in economics from New York University. He has published articles in several economics journals, including the Journal of Public Economics, the Journal of Development Economics, Economic Letters and World Development.
  • The DECRG Kuala Lumpur Seminar Series is hosted by the World Bank's Development Research Group (DECRG) based in the World Bank Malaysia office. The series invites leading researchers in development economics and public policy to present their recent work in an academic-style seminar format.
EVENT DETAILS
  • WHEN: Thursday, April 7, 2016; 12:30 - 2:00 pm
  • WHERE: World Bank Malaysia Office, Level 3, Sasana Kijang, No. 2, Jalan Dato’ Onn
  • RSVP: Kindly RSVP to Ms. Stella Ambrose (msambrose@worldbank.org) and provide your name, Malaysian I/C no. or passport no., and affiliation by 6th April 2016.
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