Mining our Hopes and Dreams: Large-Scale Mines and Youth Outcomes in Peru
Open Access
- Author:
- Reyes, Carolyn
- Graduate Program:
- Rural Sociology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 28, 2022
- Committee Members:
- Kathleen Sexsmith, Major Field Member
Karl Zimmerer, Outside Unit & Field Member
Brian Thiede, Major Field Member
Kathryn Brasier, Professor in Charge/Director of Graduate Studies
Leif Jensen, Co-Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Heather Randell, Co-Chair & Dissertation Advisor - Keywords:
- Peru
Youth
Mining
Development
Rural - Abstract:
- Large-scale mineral extraction in Latin America has been widely scrutinized for associated social, environmental, and economic impacts on communities, regions, and countries. Limited empirical attention has focused on the implications of such impacts for youth. In recent decades, Peru has adopted a national strategy that promotes transnational investment in mining developments in gold, copper and silver, leading the country to be the second-largest copper exporter in the world. However, mining projects have deep and lasting social and environmental impacts, particularly in rural areas. Mines may offer new labor-market opportunities in rural areas while simultaneously undermining the natural environment on which livelihoods depend. A youthful country demographically, this economic strategy has implications for Peru’s adolescents and young adults, shaping their opportunities, decision-making and life trajectories during key periods of transition to adulthood. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, this project draws from primary and secondary sources of data, including census data, independently collected survey data and semi-structured interviews. Situating youth experiences within the context of an extraction-based economy, this research builds on existing literature to contribute nuanced understanding of youth experiences across axes of geography, exposure to mines, and gender. Using a difference-in-differences design, I find large-scale mine projects do not significantly improve the percent of youth employed or obtaining higher education at the provincial level. This finding counters the developmental narrative that touts economic growth, job opportunities in impacted areas. Further, by way of individual-level analysis I find youth residing in provinces with large-scale mining developments have better odds of attaining higher education, but lower odds of employment compared to those in non-mining areas. Such educational benefit and employment disadvantage is found to be unequal across axes of gender and rurality. Rural youth experience significantly better odds of employment compared to their urban peers and compared to youth from non-mining areas, but have lower odds of obtaining higher education compared to their urban peers. On the other hand, areas with long histories of mining minimize gender inequalities in higher educational attainment, but exacerbate gendered employment opportunities. Finally, qualitative results reveal that youth perceive broad economic benefit from mines, despite limited direct experiences of such benefits.