The local health impacts of natural resource booms

Abstract

Many low-and middle-income countries are endowed with a variety of natural resources, such as crops, minerals, and oil. Over the 2000s, the rise in commodity prices played an important role in driving the economic growth of these countries (McMahon & Moreira, 2014). Booms in production increased wealth and economic opportunities (Aragon et al., 2015), but the net impacts on population health are still under-studied. Do natural resource booms benefit or harm the health of local communities? This paper explores the relationship between natural resources and local economic development in the context of an emerging economy, namely Brazil. It focuses on the 2000-2010 decade, when the commodity price cycle and abundant capital inflows played a key role in improving the country's economic performance. By studying the trade-off between benefits and costs that economic booms in minerals generate, this paper provides evidence of the mechanisms through which different types of minerals affect birth outcomes.There are different economic and biological channels behind the mechanisms through which booms in mineral resources can affect health at birth (Almond et al., 2018).On the one hand, booms in natural resources can benefit local economies through resource windfalls and economic opportunities. Increased mining activities could lead to more governmental resources through royalties. If municipalities were to invest this wealth in public health goods local economies would benefit