Skip to main content
Duke University Libraries
DukeSpace Scholarship by Duke Authors
  • Login
  • Ask
  • Menu
  • Login
  • Ask a Librarian
  • Search & Find
  • Using the Library
  • Research Support
  • Course Support
  • Libraries
  • About
View Item 
  •   DukeSpace
  • Theses and Dissertations
  • Undergraduate Honors Theses and Student papers
  • View Item
  •   DukeSpace
  • Theses and Dissertations
  • Undergraduate Honors Theses and Student papers
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Fool’s Gold: An Examination of Liberalization and Extractive Mining and in Ghana

Thumbnail
View / Download
3.2 Mb
Date
2018-04
Author
Gundersen, Connor
Advisor
Wibbels, Erik
Repository Usage Stats
562
views
448
downloads
Abstract
This thesis assesses the spatial distribution of mines in Ghana and its effect on residents in nearby communities. Large-scale mines are largely concentrated in the country’s “Golden Triangle,” a gold-rich area in southwest Ghana that has seen increased conflict, displacement, and poverty due to the expansion of large-scale mines, a key part of development policy in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Testing the relationship between the independent variable of a resident’s distance to the nearest large-scale mine and the dependent variables of their household 1) wellbeing and 2) attitudes towards government, as measured through a robust set of survey responses, this analysis is designed to assess the role of large-scale mining in the everyday lives and political perspectives of rural Ghanaians. Undertaken with an interdisciplinary approach, this research question possesses relevance to greater development scholarship, as large-scale mining aptly represents the logics behind the last several decades of structural adjustment and its successors. The data analysis finds no statistically-significant relationship between household wellbeing and distance to the nearest mine, with little evidence of any effect. However, in testing the relationship between household attitudes towards government and distance to the nearest mine, there is a significant relationship found that poses further questions. The influence of control variables is also discussed.
Type
Honors thesis
Department
Political Science
Subject
mining
artisanal
small-scale
development
extraction
galamsey
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/16721
Citation
Gundersen, Connor (2018). Fool’s Gold: An Examination of Liberalization and Extractive Mining and in Ghana. Honors thesis, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/16721.
Collections
  • Undergraduate Honors Theses and Student papers
More Info
Show full item record
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Rights for Collection: Undergraduate Honors Theses and Student papers


Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info

Make Your Work Available Here

How to Deposit

Browse

All of DukeSpaceCommunities & CollectionsAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit DateThis CollectionAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit Date

My Account

LoginRegister

Statistics

View Usage Statistics
Duke University Libraries

Contact Us

411 Chapel Drive
Durham, NC 27708
(919) 660-5870
Perkins Library Service Desk

Digital Repositories at Duke

  • Report a problem with the repositories
  • About digital repositories at Duke
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Deaccession and DMCA Takedown Policy

TwitterFacebookYouTubeFlickrInstagramBlogs

Sign Up for Our Newsletter
  • Re-use & Attribution / Privacy
  • Harmful Language Statement
  • Support the Libraries
Duke University