IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/aareaj/208896.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mining activity, income inequality and gender in regional Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Reeson, Andrew
  • Measham, Thomas G.
  • Hosking, Karin

Abstract

Mining activity has been a significant driver of export growth as well as income and employment in parts of regional Australia. However, while income growth is an economic benefit, the high incomes associated with the mining sector may also lead to greater inequality. This paper describes an empirical analysis of mining activity and income inequality in regional Australia. The Gini coefficient (a measure of inequality) for personal income is found to be significantly associated with levels of mining employment. However, this relationship is not linear. Rather, income inequality initially increases with mining activity, before decreasing at medium to high levels of mining employment, following a Kuznets curve pattern. Segregating data for men and women reveals very different patterns. Among men, inequality initially increases as mining employment in a region increases, but then sharply decreases; at high levels of mining activity, income inequality among men is lower than is typically observed in non-mining areas. Among women, income inequality increases with mining activity throughout its range. This suggests that income inequality is most likely to be a problem in locales with intermediate levels of mining activity and that it affects men and women quite differently.

Suggested Citation

  • Reeson, Andrew & Measham, Thomas G. & Hosking, Karin, 2012. "Mining activity, income inequality and gender in regional Australia," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 56(2), pages 1-12.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aareaj:208896
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.208896
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/208896/files/j.1467-8489.2012.00578.x.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.208896?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Heinz Schandl & Franzi Poldy & Graham M. Turner & Thomas G. Measham & Daniel H. Walker & Nina Eisenmenger, 2008. "Australia's Resource Use Trajectories," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 12(5-6), pages 669-685, October.
    2. Hajkowicz, Stefan A. & Heyenga, Sonja & Moffat, Kieren, 2011. "The relationship between mining and socio-economic well being in Australia's regions," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 30-38, March.
    3. Solomon, Fiona & Katz, Evie & Lovel, Roy, 2008. "Social dimensions of mining: Research, policy and practice challenges for the minerals industry in Australia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 142-149, September.
    4. Corden, W Max & Neary, J Peter, 1982. "Booming Sector and De-Industrialisation in a Small Open Economy," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 92(368), pages 825-848, December.
    5. Mudd, Gavin M., 2010. "The Environmental sustainability of mining in Australia: key mega-trends and looming constraints," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 98-115, June.
    6. M. Bahmani-Oskooee & A. Gelan, 2008. "Kuznets inverted-U hypothesis revisited: a time-series approach using US data," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(9), pages 677-681.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fleming, David A. & Measham, Thomas G. & Paredes, Dusan, 2015. "Understanding the resource curse (or blessing) across national and regional scales: Theory, empirical challenges and an application," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 59(4), October.
    2. S. Vögele & K. Govorukha & P. Mayer & I. Rhoden & D. Rübbelke & W. Kuckshinrichs, 2023. "Effects of a coal phase-out in Europe on reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 879-916, January.
    3. Balza, Lenin H. & De Los Rios, Camilo & Guerra, Alfredo & Herrera-Prada, Luis Omar & Manzano, Osmel, 2023. "Unraveling the network of extractive industries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    4. Somaye Narrei & Majid Ataee-pour, 2021. "Assessment of personal preferences concerning the social impacts of mining with choice experiment method," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 34(1), pages 39-49, April.
    5. Fleming, David A. & Measham, Thomas G., 2015. "Local economic impacts of an unconventional energy boom: the coal seam gas industry in Australia," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 59(1), January.
    6. BERUMEN, Sergio A. & LLAMAZARES-REDONDO, Francisco, 2014. "Economic Development and Viability Firms in European Mining Regions," Regional and Sectoral Economic Studies, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 14(1), pages 33-46.
    7. Tano, Sofia & Pettersson, Örjan & Stjernström, Olof, 2016. "Labour income effects of the recent “mining boom” in northern Sweden," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 31-40.
    8. Measham, Thomas G. & Zhang, Airong, 2019. "Social licence, gender and mining: Moral conviction and perceived economic importance," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 363-368.
    9. Miller, Rebecca, 2015. "Natural resource extraction and political trust," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 165-172.
    10. Bansal, Sanchita & Nangia, Priya & Singh, Shifali & Cichoń, Dariusz, 2024. "Where's our share: Agenda for gender representation in mining industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    11. repec:ags:aare16:235308 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Gayatree Sahoo & Asis Kumar Senapati, 2021. "Are the households in coal mining regions more vulnerable? A study in Talcher Coalfield of India," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 34(3), pages 455-475, October.
    13. Qi Wen & Jin Li & Kevin M. Mwenda & Daniel Ervin & Maya Chatterjee & David Lopez‐Carr, 2022. "Coal exploitation and income inequality: Testing the resource curse with econometric analyses of household survey data from northwestern China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 452-469, March.
    14. Wright, Susan & Bice, Sara, 2017. "Beyond social capital: A strategic action fields approach to social licence to operate," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 284-295.
    15. Measham, Thomas & Fleming, David & Schandl, Heinz, 2015. "A Conceptual Model of the Socioeconomic Impacts of Unconventional Fossil Fuel Extraction," MPRA Paper 68523, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 24 Nov 2015.
    16. George Adu & Franklin Amuakwa-Mensah & George Marbuah & Justice Tei Mensah, 2016. "Effect of gold mining on income distribution in Ghana," Working Papers 2016.23, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    17. Kotey, Bernice & Rolfe, John, 2014. "Demographic and economic impact of mining on remote communities in Australia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 65-72.
    18. Windle, Jill & Rolfe, John, 2014. "Valuation framing and attribute scope variation in a choice experiment to asses the impacts of changing land use from agriculture to mining," 2014 Conference (58th), February 4-7, 2014, Port Macquarie, Australia 165888, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    19. Fleming, David A. & Measham, Thomas G., 2013. "Disentangling the Natural Resources Curse: National and Regional Socioeconomic Impacts of Resource Windfalls," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 150526, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. West, James & Schandl, Heinz, 2013. "Material use and material efficiency in Latin America and the Caribbean," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 19-27.
    21. Rodríguez-Puello, Gabriel & Rickardsson, Jonna, 2024. "Spatial Diffusion of Economic Shocks in the Labor Market: Evidence from a Mining Boom and Bust," OSF Preprints tzmf2, Center for Open Science.
    22. Chávez, Alicia & Rodríguez-Puello, Gabriel, 2022. "Commodity price shocks and the gender wage gap: Evidence from the Metal Mining Prices Super-Cycle in Chile," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    23. Rodríguez-Puello, Gabriel, 2024. "Digging for Trouble? Uncovering the Link Between Mining Booms and Crime," OSF Preprints s8ayp, Center for Open Science.
    24. De Valck, Jeremy & Williams, Galina & Kuik, Swee, 2021. "Does coal mining benefit local communities in the long run? A sustainability perspective on regional Queensland, Australia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fleming, David A. & Measham, Thomas G., 2015. "Local economic impacts of an unconventional energy boom: the coal seam gas industry in Australia," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 59(1), January.
    2. Carmelo Pinedo-Álvarez & Karla Ozuki Chacón-Chumacero & Alfredo Pinedo-Álvarez & Martín Martínez-Salvador & Marusia Rentería-Villalobos & Eduardo Santellano-Estrada & Sandra Rodríguez-Piñeros, 2017. "Using Social, Economic and Land-Use Indices to Build a Local Sustainability Index in a Mining Region of the Sierra Tarahumara, Mexico," Resources, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-15, August.
    3. Liang Wang & Kwame Awuah-Offei & Sisi Que & Wei Yang, 2016. "Eliciting Drivers of Community Perceptions of Mining Projects through Effective Community Engagement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-17, July.
    4. Valente José Matlaba & Maria Cristina Maneschy & Jorge Filipe dos Santos & José Aroudo Mota, 2019. "Socioeconomic dynamics of a mining town in Amazon: a case study from Canaã dos Carajás, Brazil," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 32(1), pages 75-90, April.
    5. S. Vögele & K. Govorukha & P. Mayer & I. Rhoden & D. Rübbelke & W. Kuckshinrichs, 2023. "Effects of a coal phase-out in Europe on reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 879-916, January.
    6. Zeng, Lijun & Wang, Bingcheng & Fan, Liu & Wu, Jianguo, 2016. "Analyzing sustainability of Chinese mining cities using an association rule mining approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 394-404.
    7. Windle, Jill & Rolfe, John, 2014. "Valuation framing and attribute scope variation in a choice experiment to asses the impacts of changing land use from agriculture to mining," 2014 Conference (58th), February 4-7, 2014, Port Macquarie, Australia 165888, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    8. Windle, Jill & Rolfe, John, 2014. "Assessing the trade-offs of increased mining activity in the Surat Basin, Queensland: preferences of Brisbane residents using nonmarket valuation techniques," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 58(1), January.
    9. Mardi Dungey & Renee Fry-McKibbin & Verity Linehan, 2014. "Chinese resource demand and the natural resource supplier," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(2), pages 167-178, January.
    10. Lacey, Justine & Malakar, Yuwan & McCrea, Rod & Moffat, Kieren, 2019. "Public perceptions of established and emerging mining technologies in Australia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 125-135.
    11. Vintró, Carla & Fortuny, Jordi & Sanmiquel, Lluís & Freijo, Modesto & Edo, Joaquín, 2012. "Is corporate social responsibility possible in the mining sector? Evidence from Catalan companies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 118-125.
    12. Xavier, Lúcia Helena & Giese, Ellen Cristine & Ribeiro-Duthie, Ana Cristina & Lins, Fernando Antonio Freitas, 2021. "Sustainability and the circular economy: A theoretical approach focused on e-waste urban mining," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    13. David A. Fleming & Thomas G. Measham & Dusan Paredes, 2015. "Understanding the resource curse (or blessing) across national and regional scales: Theory, empirical challenges and an application," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 59(4), pages 624-639, October.
    14. Zeng, Lijun & Guo, Jiaqi & Wang, Bingcheng & Lv, Jun & Wang, Qin, 2019. "Analyzing sustainability of Chinese coal cities using a decision tree modeling approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    15. Zeng, Lijun & Wang, Jinfeng & Zhang, Jinshuo & Lv, Jun & Cui, Wei, 2020. "New Urbanization paths in mineral resource abundant regions in China: A three-dimensional cube framework," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    16. Ofentse William Marutle & Olebogeng David Daw, 2017. "The Significance of Mining Infrastructural Development on South African Economy from 1980-2013: An Econometric Approach," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 9(3), pages 73-81.
    17. Chávez, Alicia & Rodríguez-Puello, Gabriel, 2022. "Commodity price shocks and the gender wage gap: Evidence from the Metal Mining Prices Super-Cycle in Chile," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    18. Schaffartzik, Anke & Mayer, Andreas & Eisenmenger, Nina & Krausmann, Fridolin, 2016. "Global patterns of metal extractivism, 1950–2010: Providing the bones for the industrial society's skeleton," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 101-110.
    19. Miller, Rebecca, 2015. "Natural resource extraction and political trust," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 165-172.
    20. Lotfalipour, Mohammad Reza & sargolzaie, Ali & Salehnia, Narges, 2022. "Natural resources: A curse on welfare?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:aareaj:208896. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaresea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.