Critical Minerals and Backward Linkages: Evidence from 22 Million Firm-to-Firm Observations

Photo of Anja Benshaul–Tolonen

Anja Benshaul–Tolonen

Assistant Professor of Economics, Barnard College

Award: $29,854

Anja’s project investigates the economic risks and opportunities posed by Zambia’s push to expand copper production amid rising global demand. Using decade-long administrative VAT and mining data, the study maps backward linkages between copper mines and domestic firms, examines supplier integration and procurement behavior, and measures productivity spillovers, offering new insight into the political economy of resource dependence.

Collaborator

  • Paula Fernandez Musso, Development Economics Research Assistant, Barnard College
Paula Fernandez Musso
Paula Fernandez Musso