African Gold

The book explores the evolving economics of gold as a global commodity as well as the production and trade of gold in and from the African continent. The growth of gold as an increasingly important and diverse source of African wealth is examined, alongside the impact that the rise of China in the 21st century has had on the demand for gold. The volatility of the gold price has increased as a result of the dramatic decline of gold demand for manufacturing purposes.

Gold is Africa's second largest export after oil and is a perfect metaphor for a continent rich in resources while so much of its population lives in such dire poverty. The artisanal and small scale gold mining (ASGM) sector, is surprisingly widely perceived as being beneficial to the development of Africa despite its exploitation and dreadful health and environmental consequences.

African Gold: Production, Trade and Economic Development considers policy issues regarding the gold mining sector, the economics of beneficiation, the retreat of jewelry manufacturing across the continent as well as 'Africa's golden future'. It is a relevant book for both academics and policymakers interested in Africa, natural resource, and development economics.

Examines policy issues related to gold production and how to manage them

Explores the continent wide linkages and networks needed to promote development in Africa

Discusses the complex issue of taxation within the mining industry

Auteur

Roman Grynberg is a Professor of Economics at the University of Namibia. He holds a Ph.D from McGill University, Montreal, specializing in Development Economics and Economic Theory. He is a specialist in international trade and commodities and has published extensively on commodities trade as well as the WTO.

Fwasa K. Singogo is research fellow in the Economics Department at the University of Namibia. He holds an Msc. from the University of Namibia.

Contenu

1. Introduction - Incantations for a 'Barbarous Relic'.- 2. 21st Century Economics of the Gold Price.- 3. The ASGM Sector in Africa- Lessons from China.- 4. Africa's Toxic Alchemy.- 5. Gold in South Africa- Lessons from the Apartheid era.- 6. Gold, Oil and Revolution in North Africa.- 7. Trade and the Smuggling of Gold from West Africa to the UAE.- 8. Gold smuggling and the Plunder of the DRC.- 9. An Anatomy of Grand Fraud: The Goldenberg Scandal and the IMF/World Bank.- 10. Dubai -Conflict Gold, Money Laundering and Illicit Global Trade.- 11. Gold and the Genesis of Modern African Resource Nationalism.- 12. Gold and African Industrialization: Between an Economic Rock and a Political Hard Place.- 13. Taxation and Illicit Financial Flows in the Gold Mining Sector.- 14. Conclusion.