IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i18p7673-d414809.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Bigger Data and Quantitative Methods in the Study of Socio-Environmental Conflicts

Author

Listed:
  • Paul Alexander Haslam

    (School of International Development and Global Studies, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N6N5, Canada)

Abstract

New data sources that I characterize as “bigger data” can offer insight into the causes and consequences of socio-environmental conflicts, especially in the mining and extractive sectors, improving the accuracy and generalizability of findings. This article considers several contemporary methods for generating, compiling, and structuring data including geographic information system (GIS) data, and protest event analysis (PEA). Methodologies based on the use of bigger data and quantitative methods can complement, challenge, and even substitute for findings from the qualitative literature. A review of the literature shows that a particularly promising approach is to combine multiple sources of data to analyze complex problems. Moreover, such approaches permit the researcher to conduct methodologically rigorous desk-based research that is suited to areas with difficult field conditions or restricted access, and is especially relevant in a pandemic and post-pandemic context in which the ability to conduct field research is constrained.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Alexander Haslam, 2020. "Bigger Data and Quantitative Methods in the Study of Socio-Environmental Conflicts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-12, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:18:p:7673-:d:414809
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/18/7673/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/18/7673/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bebbington, Anthony & Humphreys Bebbington, Denise & Bury, Jeffrey & Lingan, Jeannet & Muñoz, Juan Pablo & Scurrah, Martin, 2008. "Mining and Social Movements: Struggles Over Livelihood and Rural Territorial Development in the Andes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 2888-2905, December.
    2. Lijphart, Arend, 1971. "Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 65(3), pages 682-693, September.
    3. Renard Sexton, 2020. "Unpacking the Local Resource Curse: How Externalities and Governance Shape Social Conflict," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 64(4), pages 640-673, April.
    4. Idean Salehyan & Cullen S. Hendrix & Jesse Hamner & Christina Case & Christopher Linebarger & Emily Stull & Jennifer Williams, 2012. "Social Conflict in Africa: A New Database," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(4), pages 503-511, September.
    5. Martin Hilbert, 2016. "Big Data for Development: A Review of Promises and Challenges," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 34(1), pages 135-174, January.
    6. Haslam, Paul Alexander & Ary Tanimoune, Nasser & Razeq, Zarlasht M., 2019. "Is “being foreign” a liability for mining companies? Locational liabilities and social conflict in Latin America," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Chambers, Robert, 1994. "Participatory rural appraisal (PRA): Analysis of experience," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 22(9), pages 1253-1268, September.
    8. Andrea Cornwall & Garett Pratt, 2011. "The use and abuse of participatory rural appraisal: reflections from practice," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(2), pages 263-272, June.
    9. Haslam, Paul Alexander & Ary Tanimoune, Nasser, 2016. "The Determinants of Social Conflict in the Latin American Mining Sector: New Evidence with Quantitative Data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 401-419.
    10. Anthony Bebbington & Jeffrey Bury & Denise Humphreys Bebbington & Jeannet Lingan & Juan Pablo Muñoz & Martin Scurrah, 2008. "Mining and social movements: struggles over Mining and social movements: struggles over livelihood and rural territorial development in the Andes," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 3308, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    11. Javier Arellano-Yanguas, 2011. "Aggravating the Resource Curse: Decentralisation, Mining and Conflict in Peru," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(4), pages 617-638.
    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. Sebastián Huneeus & Sergio Toro & Juan Pablo Luna & Diego Sazo & Andrés Cruz & Daniel Alcatruz & Bryan Castillo & Camila Bertranou & Javier Cisterna, 2021. "Delayed and Approved: A Quantitative Study of Conflicts and the Environmental Impact Assessments of Energy Projects in Chile 2012–2017," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-13, June.

    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. Haslam, Paul Alexander, 2021. "The micro-politics of corporate responsibility: How companies shape protest in communities affected by mining," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    2. Amengual, Matthew, 2018. "Buying stability: The distributive outcomes of private politics in the Bolivian mining industry," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 31-45.
    3. Bornschier, Simon & Vogt, Manuel, 2024. "The Politics of Extractivism: Mining, Institutional Responsiveness, and Social Resistance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    4. Haslam, Paul Alexander & Ary Tanimoune, Nasser, 2016. "The Determinants of Social Conflict in the Latin American Mining Sector: New Evidence with Quantitative Data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 401-419.
    5. Haslam, Paul Alexander & Ary Tanimoune, Nasser & Razeq, Zarlasht M., 2019. "Is “being foreign” a liability for mining companies? Locational liabilities and social conflict in Latin America," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Paúl Cisneros, 2020. "A Comparative Study of the Introduction of Restrictions to Large‐Scale Mining in Four Latin American Countries," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 37(5), pages 687-712, September.
    7. Reeder, Bryce W. & Arce, Moises & Siefkas, Adrian, 2022. "Environmental justice organizations and the diffusion of conflicts over mining in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    8. Arango-Aramburo, Santiago & Jaramillo, Patricia & Olaya, Yris & Smith, Ricardo & Restrepo, Oscar J. & Saldarriaga-Isaza, Adrián & Arias-Gaviria, Jessica & Parra, Juan F. & Larsen, Erik R. & Gomez-Rios, 2017. "Simulating mining policies in developing countries: The case of Colombia," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 99-113.
    9. Fridtjof Bahlburg, 2023. "The Local Impact of Mining in Peruvian Districts: Evidence of a Subnational Resource Curse?," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 13(4), pages 264-286, July.
    10. Anthony Bebbington, 2013. "Natural resource extraction and the possibilities of inclusive development: politics across space and time," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-021-13, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    11. Arce, Moises & Nieto-Matiz, Camilo, 2024. "Mining and violence in Latin America: The state’s coercive responses to anti-mining resistance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    12. Cem Iskender Aydin & Begum Ozkaynak & Beatriz Rodríguez-Labajos & Taylan Yenilmez, 2017. "Network effects in environmental justice struggles: An investigation of conflicts between mining companies and civil society organizations from a network perspective," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(7), pages 1-20, July.
    13. Kotsadam, Andreas & Tolonen, Anja, 2016. "African Mining, Gender, and Local Employment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 325-339.
    14. Matthew Himley, 2014. "Monitoring the Impacts of Extraction: Science and Participation in the Governance of Mining in Peru," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 46(5), pages 1069-1087, May.
    15. Marin-Burgos, Victoria & Clancy, Joy S. & Lovett, Jon C., 2015. "Contesting legitimacy of voluntary sustainability certification schemes: Valuation languages and power asymmetries in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil in Colombia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 303-313.
    16. Doussoulin, Jean Pierre & Mougenot, Benoit, 2022. "Mapping mining and ecological distribution conflicts in Latin America, a bibliometric analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    17. Roy Maconachie & Radhika Srinivasan & Nicholas Menzies, 2015. "Responding to the Challenge of Fragility and Security in West Africa," World Bank Publications - Reports 22511, The World Bank Group.
    18. Salem, Jorge & Amonkar, Yash & Maennling, Nicolas & Lall, Upmanu & Bonnafous, Luc & Thakkar, Khyati, 2021. "An analysis of Peru: Is water driving mining conflicts?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    19. Moomen, Abdul–Wadood & Dewan, Ashraf, 2016. "Analysis of spatial interactions between the Shea industry and mining sector activities in the emerging north-west gold province of Ghana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 104-111.
    20. Matías Calderón-Seguel & Manuel Prieto & Oliver Meseguer-Ruiz & Freddy Viñales & Paulina Hidalgo & Elías Esper, 2021. "Mining, Urban Growth, and Agrarian Changes in the Atacama Desert: The Case of the Calama Oasis in Northern Chile," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-21, November.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:18:p:7673-:d:414809. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.