Investigators: CDEP Affiliate Anja Benshaul-Tolonen
Zambia, a country abundant in minerals and metals such as gold and emeralds, boasts a vibrant mining industry. Copper alone generates 80% of export earnings and accounts for about 14% of the national GDP. As an integral part of key global economic sectors such as electrical infrastructure, transportation, and construction, copper has been industrially mined for over a century in Zambia's Copperbelt Province. The country plans to further boost its copper production in the coming decades to meet the growing global demand, projected to triple by 2040 due to the green energy transition's heavy reliance on copper. Across a series of research projects, I investigate the impact of the Zambian copper mining industry on the local and domestic economy. In one project, we explore how changes in the international copper price and the Zambian copper production drives domestic linkages using firm to firm data from the Zambian Revenue Authorities. Delving into the copper mining city of Kitwe, we try to understand local firms' desire and experience interacting with the copper mining industry. We do this using 10 years of tax data, complemented with a firm survey. In a third project, we explore community health in mining areas.
Project 1:
Backward Linkages in the Copper Mining Sector in Zambia: Evidence from 22 million observations
by Anja Benshaul-Tolonen
Draft available upon request.
Project 2:
Mine Suppliers: Understanding backward linkages in Kitwe, Zambia
by Anja Benshaul-Tolonen and Paula Fernandez Musso
(Working Paper 106)
Project 3:
Measuring and Mitigating Exposure to Toxic Metals in Copper Mining Areas in Zambia
by Anja Benshaul-Tolonen,
Mulu Gebreeyesus, Elias Charles and Paula Fernandez Musso
