The public good dilemma of a non-renewable common resource: A look at the facts of artisanal gold mining

Millions of people worldwide are involved in artisanal and small-scale gold mining. Many of them live in conditions of poverty and insalubrities due to the mercury amalgamation of gold and the application of other rudimentary techniques. In spite of this, the sector has been nearly overlooked by resource economists. In this paper we analyze the sector based on a survey of the existing literature. We find some commonalities of artisanal and small-scale gold mining in different countries of the developing world as follows: low levels of mechanization and technology, labor intensiveness, low awareness of environmental degradation, poor training, high transience among some miners, and lack of financial savings. Moreover, with these commonalities in mind, we present some topics and challenges for a research agenda in the field of environmental, ecological, and development economics.     

CO2 emissions in German, Swedish and Colombian manufacturing industries

This study evaluates and compares the trends in CO₂ emissions for the manufacturing industries of three countries: two developed countries (Germany and Sweden) that have applied several measures to promote a shift towards a low-carbon economy and one developing country (Colombia) that has shown substantial improvements in the reduction of CO₂ emissions. This analysis is conducted using panel data cointegration techniques to infer causality between CO₂ emissions, production factors and energy sources. The results indicate a trend of producing more output with less pollution. The trends for these countries’ CO₂ emissions depend on investment levels, energy sources and economic factors. Furthermore, the trends in CO₂ emissions indicate that there are emission level differences between the two developed countries and the developing country. Moreover, the study confirms that it is possible to achieve economic growth and sustainable development while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as Germany and Sweden demonstrate. In the case of Colombia, it is important to encourage a reduction in CO₂ emissions through policies that combine technical and economic instruments and incentivise the application of new technologies that promote clean and environmentally friendly processes.