The Contribution of the Mining Sector to Socioeconomic and Human Development
Many low and middle-income mineral-rich countries have experienced strong growth for a decade or longer, propelled by a rapid expansion of their mineral exports and a rise in prices of these commodities. This sustained strong economic performance g...
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Language: | English en_US |
Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/04/19435144/contribution-mining-sector-socioeconomic-human-development http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18660 |
Summary: | Many low and middle-income mineral-rich
countries have experienced strong growth for a decade or
longer, propelled by a rapid expansion of their mineral
exports and a rise in prices of these commodities. This
sustained strong economic performance goes against the
accepted wisdom that even though the mining sector, like
other extractive industries, can generate foreign exchange
and fiscal revenues, it contributes little to sustained
economic growth and, by extension, human development.
Through the presentation of trends and patterns of various
indicators, this paper shows that in addition to economic
growth, countries rich in minerals other than oil have
experienced significant improvements in their human
development index (HDI) scores that are on average better
than those experienced by countries without minerals. In a
sample of five low and middle-income countries with
relatively long histories of mining, benefits came from
foreign direct investment (FDI), export revenues, and fiscal
revenues. The overall impact of the mining sector was much
stronger if there were infrastructure benefits and strong
linkages to other industries, especially through domestic
procurement. Contrary to the notion that there are no jobs
in mining, in this small sample, employment related to the
mining sector was very high in countries where linkages were
strong, even before the multiplier and fiscal expenditure
impacts were accounted for. Cooperation between the public
and private sectors seemed essential to increasing such
linkages. In addition, mining firms often made substantial
contributions to local and regional development, at times
due to legal requirements but often not. All five countries
have either relatively high HDIs (compared with neighboring
countries) or strongly improving HDIs. |
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