Mines: The local wealth and health effects of mineral mining in developing countries

We assess health and wealth impacts of mineral mining using micro-data from about 800 mines in 44 developing countries. Gains in asset wealth (0.3 standard deviations) coexist with a higher incidence of health conditions linked to heavy metal toxicity: anemia among women (ten percentage points), and stunting in young children (five percentage points). Consistent results emerge from a range of distinct identification strategies. Two difference-in-difference tests exploit information on mineral and pollutant characteristics to show that the observed health effects are due to pollution: impacts arise only near mines where metal contamination is to be expected, and the recovery of blood hemoglobin levels in women after childbirth shows a characteristic signature of lead toxicity. Our results add to the nascent literature on health-wealth tradeoffs near industrial operations in developing countries.