Le 29 oct. 2025
Escaping the critical minerals curse
Published on October 29, 2025 – Updated on October 29, 2025
Policy Insights. Escaping the critical minerals curse
by Rabah Arezki (CNRS, CERDI, FERDI, Harvard Kennedy School) and Rick van der Ploeg (University of Oxford, University of Amsterdam and CEPR).
A race is raging among the superpowers over critical minerals in developing countries to power the simultaneous energy and digital transitions that the world is experiencing. The extraordinary growth in demand for critical minerals is putting upward pressure on prices and stimulating new critical mineral discoveries around the world. In developing countries, the new bonanza from critical minerals presents opportunities but also important risks. In this Policy Insight, the authors argue that absent governance system shifts, developing countries risk facing a ‘critical minerals curse’.
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A race is raging among the superpowers over critical minerals in developing countries to power the simultaneous energy and digital transitions that the world is experiencing. The extraordinary growth in demand for critical minerals is putting upward pressure on prices and stimulating new critical mineral discoveries around the world. In developing countries, the new bonanza from critical minerals presents opportunities but also important risks. In this Policy Insight, the authors argue that absent governance system shifts, developing countries risk facing a ‘critical minerals curse’.
Continue reading
Reference
Arezki, R and F van der Ploeg (2025), Policy Insight 147: Escaping the critical minerals curse, CEPR Policy Insight No 147, CEPR Press, Paris & London. https://cepr.org/publications/policy-insight-147-escaping-critical-minerals-curse.