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Illegal Gold Mining and Violence in Colombia

Author

Listed:
  • Idrobo Nicolás

    (Economics, Universidad de Los Andes, Calle 19A #1-37 Este Bloque W Piso 9, Bogota, DC 1, Colombia)

  • Mejía Daniel

    (Economics, Universidad de Los Andes, Calle 19A #1-37 Este Bloque W Piso 9, Bogota, DC 1, Colombia)

  • Tribin Ana María

    (Economics, Brown University, Economics Robinson Hall, Providence, RI 02912, USA)

Abstract
The increase in the international price of commodities after the international financial crisis in 2008 produced a gold rush in the Colombian economy, making legal and illegal mining a very profitable and attractive business. The increase in the illegal exploitation of metals like gold has exacerbated violence in municipalities with an abundance of such minerals. Gold is believed to be a new engine in the Colombian conflict. This paper documents the phenomenon and quantifies the causal impact that the gold boom has had on indicators of violence such as homicides, forced displacement and massacres. We use the location of national parks, indigenous reserves and geochemical anomalies associated with the presence of gold mines as instruments for illegal mining in order to disentangle the causal effect of illegal mining on violence. By law, it is very difficult to get licenses for the extraction of gold in parks and indigenous reserves, and this might be a factor increasing the prevalence of illegal mining activities in municipalities with these features. In order to have time variation in our instruments, we interact geographical features associated with the presence of gold and illegal gold mining (which vary only at the municipal level) with the international price of gold. Our estimates indicate that the rise of illegal gold mining has caused a statistically significant increase in violence, as measured with the homicide rate and the victims of massacres. However, we do not find a significant causal effect of illegal gold mining on forced displacement. Our interpretation is that the increase in the profitability of illegal mining activities has sparked a dispute over territorial control between illegal armed groups in order to monopolize the extraction of the precious minerals. Nevertheless, illegal mining is a labor intensive activity, and this may have counteracted the incentives of illegal armed groups to displace local populations from their land.

Suggested Citation

  • Idrobo Nicolás & Mejía Daniel & Tribin Ana María, 2014. "Illegal Gold Mining and Violence in Colombia," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(1), pages 83-111, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:pepspp:v:20:y:2014:i:1:p:83-111:n:2
    DOI: 10.1515/peps-2013-0053
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    Cited by:

    1. Knight, Brian & Tribin, Ana, 2023. "Immigration and violent crime: Evidence from the Colombia-Venezuela Border," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    2. 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).
    3. Eduardo Ferraz & Rodrigo Soares & Juan Vargas, 2022. "Unbundling the relationship between economic shocks and crime," Chapters, in: Paolo Buonanno & Paolo Vanin & Juan Vargas (ed.), A Modern Guide to the Economics of Crime, chapter 8, pages 184-204, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Thomas Bassetti & Raul Caruso & Darwin Cortes, 2015. "Behavioral differences in violence: The case of intra-group differences of Paramilitaries and Guerrillas in Colombia," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Politica Economica ispe0073, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    5. Thomas Keywood & Jörg Baten, 2021. "Elite violence and elite numeracy in Europe from 500 to 1900 CE: roots of the divergence," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 15(2), pages 319-389, May.
    6. Mounu Prem & Miguel Purroy & Juan F. Vargas, 2021. "Landmines: The local effects of demining," Documentos de Trabajo 19733, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA).
    7. Vélez, Maria Alejandra & Robalino, Juan & Cardenas, Juan Camilo & Paz, Andrea & Pacay, Eduardo, 2020. "Is collective titling enough to protect forests? Evidence from Afro-descendant communities in the Colombian Pacific region," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    8. Saavedra, Santiago & Romero, Mauricio, 2021. "Local incentives and national tax evasion: The response of illegal mining to a tax reform in Colombia," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    9. Rodriguez, Mauricio & Smulders, Sjak, 2022. "Dynamic resource management under weak property rights: A tale of thieves and trespassers," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    10. Guerra-Cújar, María Elvira & Prem, Mounu & Rodriguez-Lesmes, Paul & Vargas, Juan F., 2020. "The Peace Baby Boom: Evidence from Colombia’s peace agreement with FARC," SocArXiv c2ypd, Center for Open Science.
    11. Santos, Rafael J., 2018. "Blessing and curse. The gold boom and local development in Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 337-355.
    12. Vélez-Torres, Irene & Vanegas, Diana, 2022. "Contentious environmental governance in polluted gold mining geographies: The case of La Toma, Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    13. Soares, Rodrigo R. & Souza, Danilo, 2023. "Too Much of a Good Thing: Accelerated Growth and Crime," IZA Discussion Papers 16002, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Baten, Jörg & Baier, Jessica, 2017. "Silver, Murder, and Institutions: Did the “Curse of Resources†impact on Homicide Rates? Global evidence since 1890," CEPR Discussion Papers 12397, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. repec:ott:wpaper:2404e is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Jilmar Robledo-Caicedo, 2019. "¿A dónde se fue la fortuna? Historia económica y social del Chocó, Colombia," Cuadernos de Historia Económica 52, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    17. Lemus Natalia, 2014. "Conflict-Induced Poverty: Evidence from Colombia," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(1), pages 113-142, January.
    18. Baten, Jörg, 2019. "Elite Violence and Elite Numeracy in Europe from 500 to 1900 CE: A Co-Evolution?," CEPR Discussion Papers 14013, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Bürgi Bonanomi, Elisabeth & Elsig, Manfred & Espa, Ilaria, 2015. "The Commodity Sector and Related Governance Challenges from a Sustainable Development Perspective: The Example of Switzerland Current Research Gaps," Papers 865, World Trade Institute.
    20. Álvarez Juan Diego, 2016. "Governing Mining Resources in the History of Colombia: Between Official Institutions and Resistance," The Law and Development Review, De Gruyter, vol. 9(1), pages 29-67, June.
    21. 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).
    22. Arce, Moises & Nieto-Matiz, Camilo, 2024. "Mining and violence in Latin America: The state’s coercive responses to anti-mining resistance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    illegal mining; violence; conflict; natural resources; Colombia; JEL classifications: O15; I38; J22;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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