| By Hinojosa, L., Bebbington, A. and Barrientos, A. | Published in Mineral Rents and the Financing of Social Policy: Opportunities and Challenges, pp. 91-121. Edited by K. Hujo. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. |
Excerpt: At the time of writing it seemed that the different impacts and implications of the recent economic crisis — which occurred mostly in developed economies, but was spreading towards the developing world — would also affect mineral-rich developing countries (MDCs) by reducing both demand for and prices of minerals and metals. Yet, this effect is still to be seen. The economies of mineral-importing countries such as China and India do not seem to be shrinking significantly — at least not to the same extent as those of the countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Furthermore, it is expected that measures taken to prompt economic recovery all over the world will again stimulate the expansion of mineral industries — an expansion that is more likely to occur in MDCs, since the constraints on developing mining activities in Western Europe and North America are stronger.