Skip to main content

IFS/STICERD/UCL Development Work in Progress Seminar

Global Export Restrictions on Critical Minerals and Upgrading in Green Value Chains

Florian Munch (LSE POID and CEP)

Thursday 23 April 2026 14:00 - 15:00


Many of our seminars and public events this year will continue as in person or as hybrid (online and in person) events.

Please check our website listings and Twitter feed @STICERD_LSE for updates.

Unless otherwise specified, in-person seminars are open to the public. Please ensure you have informed the event contact as early as possible.

Those unable to join the seminars in-person are welcome to participate via zoom if the event is hybrid.


About this event

Decarbonization and digitalization have triggered demand booms for minerals, yet resource-rich countries have historically struggled to turn finite natural resources into lasting industrialization. This paper provides the first global analysis of export restrictions on raw materials and critical minerals and their role in promoting downstream industrialization. It combines data on over 3,200+ export restrictions across 60+ countries (2002-2023) with detailed trade and production data, classifying products into value chain stages, including 41 minerals across 12 green value chains. Using AI-constructed product-level input-output linkages and staggered difference-in-differences, I estimate both direct upstream and indirect downstream effects. The theoretical framework illustrates how upstream export restrictions function as an indirect subsidy to downstream domestic sectors. The empirical results confirm this mechanism: upstream raw material exports decrease while downstream exports expand. Mining output increases despite falling mining exports, potentially driven by expanded downstream activity, suggesting resource-rich countries can leverage export restrictions to support broader industrialization.