Does anyone live here? Mine closures and depopulation in Spanish coal mining areas

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methaodos.revista de ciencias sociales. Vol. 12 Núm. 2 (2024)
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Published: Nov 28, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17502/mrcs.v12i2.822
Keywords:
minería del carbón, estimadores de emparejamiento, maldición de los recursos locales coal mining, matching estimators, local resource curse, population decline
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Xaquin S. Perez Sindin
University of Warsaw image/svg+xml
Esteban Fernandez Vazquez
University of Oviedo image/svg+xml
Alexia Sanz-Hernández
University of Zaragoza image/svg+xml
Ángel Alonso Domínguez
University of Oviedo image/svg+xml
Manuel García Docampo
Universidade da Coruña image/svg+xml

Abstract

One of the most pressing socio-economic issues across EU countries has been the depopulation of a significant part of its territory. Less urbanized areas are perceived as non-attractive places to live and have been losing population steadily in the latest decades. For the case of Spain, this European-wise phenomenon has been exacerbated for several territories characterized by a large presence of primary and extractive industries in the past. We quantify empirically the contribution that the closure of the heavily subsidized coal mining had on the depopulation trends experienced in mining-intensive areas in Spain. This poses an interesting research question, since both non-mining and mining territories in Spain suffered a remarkable negative down trend in demographic terms since early nineties, which was the period on which the coal mining industry started to cease steadily its activity. Our empirical strategy relies on matching estimators that compare the demographic trend across mining-intensive and non-mining intensive municipalities in four provinces, controlling for observable characteristics and isolating the net effect of the “shock” originated by the termination of this mining activities. Our analysis finds a statistically significant and sizable negative effect on the fall of population for mining-intensive municipalities between 1991 and 2011.

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Perez Sindin, X. S., Fernandez Vazquez, E., Sanz-Hernández, A., Alonso Domínguez, Ángel, & García Docampo, M. (2024). Does anyone live here? Mine closures and depopulation in Spanish coal mining areas . methaodos.Social Science Journal, 12(2), m241202a06. https://doi.org/10.17502/mrcs.v12i2.822
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Vol. 12 No. 2 (2024)
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Articles
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Xaquin S. Perez Sindin, University of Warsaw

PhD in Sociology from the University of A Coruña. He currently works as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Economy at the University of Warsaw (Poland), and is an affiliated researcher at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management (IGN), University of Copenhagen. His research focuses on the social impact of development projects (particularly related to energy and mining): social issues, conflicts, contestation, inequality; public perception of environmental planning and interventions; social aspects of energy transition and mine closure: identity, power and resistance, public perceptions and socio-economic changes.

Esteban Fernandez Vazquez, University of Oviedo

Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Oviedo and holds a PhD in Economics. He has served as the coordinator of the Regional Economic Analysis Laboratory, REGIOlab, of which he is a research member. His work lies at the intersection of three fields: econometric modeling, input-output analysis, and regional-spatial economics. The results of his research have led to over fifty publications indexed in journals included in JCR or SCOPUS. He is the editor of the journal Regional Science Policy & Practice and is also a member of the editorial committee of Spatial Economic Analysis.

Alexia Sanz-Hernández, University of Zaragoza

PhD in Sociology (1997, University of Zaragoza). Associate Professor at the University of Zaragoza. Director of the Tervalis Chair of Bioeconomy and Society and leader of this strategic line within the research group “Socioeconomy and Sustainability”. Member of Institute for Research on Employment, Digital Society, and Sustainability. Her research focuses on the social aspects of sustainability transitions, the sociological analysis of public policies, and the communication surrounding the management, consumption, and production of natural resources. She is also the Director of the Circular Society Lab, which is focused on innovation, education, and communication related to the ecological and digital transitions.

Ángel Alonso Domínguez, University of Oviedo

PhD from the University of Oviedo. He has over twenty years of experience in the private sector, working for twelve years in the shipbuilding industry. He is currently a teaching and research staff member (PDI) in the Department of Sociology at the University of Oviedo, where he has participated in national and international projects as a member of the excellence network Reconciling Work and Welfare in Europe and the research group Promoting Employment and Welfare in Europe. His most recent research areas include occupational well-being, deindustrialization processes, and the just energy transition.

Manuel García Docampo, Universidade da Coruña

PhD in Sociology and Associate Professor at the University of A Coruña, affiliated with the Department of Sociology and a member of the Territorial Studies Group. His main area of work is the Sociology of Territory. In this field, he has published various works and has dedicated much of his teaching and knowledge transfer efforts. Among his recent projects is the Erasmus+ project Landscapes that Connect. Smart Specialization in the Creative Management of Sustainable Rural Heritage and Landscape (2021-2023), as well as publications such as Sustainable Urbanism: The Path of Cities in the 2030 Agenda, in the International Journal of Communication and Development.

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