Conference Agenda

The past three decades have witnessed a dramatic expansion of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASgM), transforming the economic and spatial opportunities of tens of millions of people. We show how this transformation has shaped urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa since 1975. Our empirical strategy exploits plausibly exogenous variation in ASgM activity generated by the interaction between international gold-price shocks and local geological suitability for artisanal extraction, which we combine with new continent-wide data on urban population, nighttime lights, and household welfare. Although ASgM is commonly viewed as a rural activity, we find that ASgM exposure significantly accelerates urbanization, accounting for roughly five percent of total urban population growth. This expansion takes the form of extensive, decentralized urbanization: new towns emerge in remote, infrastructure-poor areas, while the growth of pre-existing towns and cities does not accelerate. Both new and existing urban entities exposed to ASgM exhibit lower living standards and limited industrial activity. Overall, ASgM contributes to a fragmented pattern of urbanization without structural transformation.