Impacts of Small Scale Mining on Malaria among Children in Ghana

This study examines the causal relationship between artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) activity and malaria incidence among children under five years old in Ghana, a country with high malaria prevalence and significant ASM activity. Using a difference-indifferences design, we leverage expansions in the ASM spatial footprint to compare areas that are newly exposed to mining activity to areas that remain far from it, before and after the expansion. We find that newly-exposed areas have a higher probability of malaria infection among children by about 20 percentage points. Our estimates are robust to alternative specifications, various proximity thresholds, and random simulated spatial displacements. These results highlight the health risks associated with ASM expansion and suggest the need for targeted interventions to reduce malaria transmission in mining-adjacent communities. JEL Codes: I15, Q53, O13