Can a Mining Windfall Improve Welfare? Evidence from Peru with Municipal Level Data

In this paper we investigate whether fiscal performance is affected by the presence of natural resource revenues. We compare policy outcomes from mineral-abundant municipalities and non mineral-abundant municipalities in Peru, before and after the mining windfall. We use a difference in difference approach with municipal-level data, profiting from the exogeneity of mining canon transfers. Our findings are not consistent with a significant difference in terms of public goods provisioning between canon recipient governments and non-recipient governments. We do not find that citizen participation in public governance alter these results. Mineral rich regions do not seem to be reaping the benefit of the windfall.