Abstract
We estimate the impact of geo-located mining concessions on the number of conflict events recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1997 and 2007. Instrumenting the variable of interest with historical concessions interacted with changes in international prices of minerals, we unveil an ecological fallacy: whereas concessions have no effect on the number of conflicts at the territory level (lowest administrative unit), they do foster violence at the district level (higher administrative unit). We develop and validate empirically a theoretical model where the incentives of armed groups to exploit and protect mineral resources explain our empirical findings.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 721-749 |
| Journal | Oxford Economic Papers |
| Volume | 66 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 27 Nov 2013 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2014 |
Keywords
- Conflict,
- Natural Resources,
- Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Access to Document
- SEKERIS_2014_cright_OEP_Mineral Resources and Conflict in DRC
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in 'Oxford economic papers' following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version: Jean-François Maystadt, Giacomo De Luca, Petros G. Sekeris, and John Ulimwengu, Mineral resources and conflicts in DRC: a case of ecological fallacy? Oxf. Econ. Pap. (2014) 66 (3): 721-749 doi:10.1093/oep/gpt037 is available online at: http://oep.oxfordjournals.org/content/66/3/721.abstract