Impactos econômicos da mineração de vanádio no município de Maracás: uma análise utilizando o método de controle sintético

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the economic impacts of Vanadium mining in the municipality of Maracás, in the state of Bahia, following the start of operations by the Canadian company Largo Resources. The research seeks to understand the impacts of mining activity on the local per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and sectoral GDPs. To achieve this objective, the Synthetic Control Method was employed to construct a synthetic comparison unit (Synthetic Maracás) in order to provide a counterfactual scenario. The results indicate positive and statistically significant effects of the mining activity in several post treatment periods, with a sharp increase of R$ 31,393.19 in the per capita GDP for the year 2018. These results are robust to multiple falsification tests. Furthermore, the evidence also suggests that the effect on Maracás' per capita GDP appears to have been driven not only by the industrial sector but also by the services sector, thereby indicating a spillover effect within the municipality's economic activity.