Gold Mining and Education: A Long-run Resource Curse in Africa?

Combining Afrobarometer survey data with geocoded data on the discovery and shutdown dates of gold mines, we show that individuals who had gold mines within their district when they were in adolescence have significantly lower educational attainment as adults. Exploring mechanisms, we find that this effect is not driven by endogenous migration, nor a higher incidence of conflicts, nor by a lower provision of schools in mining districts. While data limitations prevent us from fully exploring other channels, prior work as well as suggestive evidence point towards a higher incidence of child labour in mining district as the main mechanism.