Abstract
Drawing on insights from political economy, this chapter seeks to answer two interrelated questions: How do we explain the rational and strategic behaviors of miners and elected officials in Ghana’s small-scale mining sector? And how do these behaviors perpetuate ‘illegal’ mining in Ghana? The main arguments are that elected officials act rationally by exhibiting a dominant strategy of non-cooperation, thereby failing to broker viable policy options to reduce ‘illegal’ mining. ‘Illegal’ miners act strategically by refusing to register because there are low incentives for doing so. Further, by exercising intelligence and creativity, miners adapt to government regulation by partnering with foreign (e.g., Chinese) nationals and threatening to vote against elected officials for reneging on their promise to regularize the practice. We propose that, rather than being non-cooperative, elected officials can broker binding agreements to cooperate in order to tackle illegal mining in Ghana.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
See http://citifmonline.com/2017/08/11/90-illegal-miners-arrested-in-anti-galamsey-operation/ [Accessed 17 April 2018].
- 2.
This task force was established in May 2013 by the previous government led by John Dramani Mahama. See link for details: http://m.myjoyonline.com/marticles/news/minister-gives-up-on-fighting-illegal-mining-wants-new-approach- [Accessed 17 April 2018].
- 3.
Further details can be found in the Daily Graphic, Wednesday, 5 April 2017, 24, 41.
- 4.
Further details about the temporary ban: https://www.klapton.com/publications/ghana-mining-ban/ [Accessed 17 April 2017].
- 5.
Further details about ‘Operation Vanguard’ can found through this link: https://www.myjoyonline.com/politics/2017/August-1st/small-scale-miners-fight-akufo-addos-anti-galamsey-task-force.php [Accessed 17 April 2018].
- 6.
See an online article that documents similar measures in the past: https://www.myjoyonline.com/opinion/2018/March-23rd/the-effectiveness-of-operation-vanguard-against-illegal-mining-survival-of-security-personnel.php [Accessed 17 April 2018].
- 7.
The full online publication can be accessed through this link: https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2018/January-12th/operation-vanguard-clumps-down-on-more-illegal-miners.php [Accessed 17 April 2018].
- 8.
Full details of the story can be found through this link: http://www.mining.com/illegal-chinese-gold-miners-blamed-pollution-violence-ghana/ [Accessed 17 April 2018].
- 9.
See the link below for full details: http://www.pulse.com.gh/news/galamsey-in-ghana-illegal-miners-in-akwatia-vow-to-vote-against-nana-addo-in-2020-if-id6516627.html [17 April 2018].
References
Abdulai, Abdul-Gafaru. 2017. The Galamsey Menace in Ghana: A Political Problem Requiring Political Solutions? Policy Brief No. 5. Accra: University of Ghana Business School.
Andrews, Nathan. 2015. Digging for Survival and/or Justice? The Drivers of Illegal Mining Activities in Western Ghana. Africa Today 62 (2): 2–24.
Aryee, Benjamin N.A., Bernard K. Ntibery, and Evans Atorkui. 2003. Trends in the Small-Scale Mining of Precious Minerals in Ghana: A Perspective in its Environmental Impact. Journal of Cleaner Production 11 (2): 131–140.
Axelrod, Robert. 1984. The Evolution of Cooperation. New York: Basic Books.
Banchirigah, Sadia M. 2008. How Have Reforms Fuelled the Expansion of Artisanal Mining? Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. Resources Policy 31: 165–171.
Bickers, Kenneth N., and John T. Williams. 2001. Public Policy Analysis: A Political Economy Approach. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
de Mesquita, Ethan Bueno. 2016. Political Economy for Public Policy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Hilson, Gavin. 2001. A Contextual Review of the Ghanaian Small-Scale Mining Industry. London: IIED.
———. 2009. Small-Scale Mining and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa. An Overview. Resources Policy 34: 1–5.
———. 2017. Shootings and Burning Excavators: Some Rapid Reflections in the Government of Ghana Handling of the Informal Galamsey Mining ‘Menace’. Resources Policy 54: 109–116.
Hilson, Gavin, and Clive Potter. 2005. Structural Adjustment and Subsistence Industry: Artisanal Gold Mining in Ghana. Development and Change 36 (1): 103–131.
Hilson, Gavin, Abigail Hilson, and Eunice Adu-Darko. 2014. Chinese Participation in Ghana’s Informal Gold Mining Economy: Drivers, Implications and Clarification. Journal of Rural Studies 34: 292–303.
Horn, Murray John. 1995. The Political Economy of Public Administration. New York: Cambridge University Press.
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). 2015. Transforming Mining Through Dialogue. Accessed via: http://pubs.iied.org/G04081/. Accessed 2 May 2018.
Labonne, Beatrice. 2014. Who Is Afraid of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM)? The Extractive Industries and Society 1 (2): 121–123.
McQuilken, James, and Gavin Hilson. 2016. Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana: Evidence to Inform and Action Dialogue. London: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).
Miller, Gary. 1992. Managerial Dilemmas: The Political Economy of Hierarchy. New York: Cambridge University Press.
North, Douglass C. 1990. Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Olson, Mancur. 1965. The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Osei-Kojo, Alex, and Nathan Andrews. 2016. Questioning the Status Quo: Can Stakeholder Participation Improve Implementation of Small-Scale Mining Laws? Resources 5 (4): 1–16.
Osei-Kojo, Alex, Kwame Asamoah, and Emmanuel Yeboah-Assiamah. 2016. Implementing Small Scale Mining Laws in Ghana: Insights from the Prestea Huni Valley District. Administratio Publica 24 (3): 235–256.
Ostrom, Elinor. 1990. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sabatier, Paul A., Susan Hunter, and Susan McLaughlin. 1987. The Devil Shit: Perceptions and Misperceptions of Opponents. Western Political Quarterly 40: 51–73.
Shepsle, Kenneth A. 2010. The Rules of the Game: What Rules? Which Game. In prepared for the Conference on the Legacy and Work of Douglass C. North, St. Louis.
Simon, Herbert A. 1957. Models of Man: Social and Rational. New York: Wiley.
Teschner, Benjamin A. 2012. Small-Scale Mining Ghana: The Government and the Galamsey. Resources Policy 37 (3): 308–318.
Thaler, Richard H., and Cass R. Sunstein. 2009. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness. New York: Penguin Group.
Tom-Dery, Damien, Justice Z. Dagben, and Samuel J. Cobbina. 2012. Effect of Illegal Small-Scale Mining Operations on Vegetation Cover of Arid Northern Ghana. Research Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences 4 (6): 674–679.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Osei-Kojo, A., Andrews, N. (2020). A Political Economy of Regulatory Policy: The Case of ‘Illegal’ Small-Scale Mining in Ghana. In: Oloruntoba, S.O., Falola, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of African Political Economy. Palgrave Handbooks in IPE. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38922-2_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38922-2_23
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-38921-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-38922-2
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)