Since 2007, Burkina Faso’s mining sector has been growing quickly, with gold replacing cotton
as its biggest export. However, the decline in gold prices since 2012 has hit the Burkinabe
economy hard. Using a static calculable general equilibrium (CGE) model, the study evaluates
the macroeconomic and sectoral effects of this shock and the recent revision of its mining
code. The results show that the decline in global gold prices has significantly reduced
employment and income. In this context, a tax policy based solely on increasing taxes on
production in the gold sector increases government revenues and a decline in total
unemployment and in the income of gold mining firms. More pronounced but similar results are
found when only considering application of a tax on profits of mining firms. Finally, a
combination of production and profit taxes does not lead to higher employment and
government revenues.
Disponible en français: Chute du cours de l’or, recettes fiscales et emplois: quelle stratégie d’adaptation pour le Burkina Faso?
