of increasing safety rather than production. We study the U.S. metals mining sector, leveraging exogenous demand shocks …

damage. As expected, when the environmental damage from mining is known, the socially optimal timing will depend on the … magnitude of the damage relative to these costs in the rest of the world. But when environmental damage is uncertain, and these … to those in the rest of the world, any uncertainty over these costs will cause the social planner to optimally delay …

mining deposits is associated with bigger firms and fewer start-ups in the middle of the 20th century. We use mines as an … cold and warm regions alike and in industries that are not directly related to mining, such as trade, finance and services …