After the Mine Closes: Institutional Design and the Governance of Long-Lived Environmental Liabilities

Bell, Peter (2026): After the Mine Closes: Institutional Design and the Governance of Long-Lived Environmental Liabilities.

Abstract

Abandoned mine sites pose persistent environmental and public health risks long after production has ceased, yet remediation outcomes vary widely across jurisdictions. This paper examines why severe, well-documented hazards do not necessarily lead to institutional closure. Using asbestos mining as a stress case, the analysis compares remediation governance in Italy and Canada under conditions of extreme hazard severity and long latency between exposure and harm. Drawing on New Institutional Economics, the paper develops a comparative framework organized around five institutional variables: assignment of liability, decision authority and coordination capacity, information production and retention, time horizon alignment, and risk-bearing. The findings show that hazard severity and scientific certainty, while sufficient to generate political attention, are insufficient to produce durable remediation outcomes. Italy’s consolidation of authority within a purpose-built remediation institution enabled sustained action over multi-decade horizons, while Canada’s fragmented allocation of responsibility resulted in prolonged management, delayed closure, and reliance on compensation and litigation. The results demonstrate that abandoned mine remediation is fundamentally an institutional design problem rather than a technical one. More broadly, the paper contributes to institutional economics by extending its analytical lens to post-industrial closure, highlighting how governance structures shape the management of long-latency environmental liabilities across sectors.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Abandoned mines, Asbestos remediation, Institutional design, Environmental governance, Long-latency risk, New Institutional Economics, Legacy environmental liabilities, Mine closure, Transaction cost economics
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics > D62 - Externalities; K - Law and Economics > K3 - Other Substantive Areas of Law > K32 - Environmental, Health, and Safety Law; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q53 - Air Pollution ; Water Pollution ; Noise ; Hazardous Waste ; Solid Waste ; Recycling; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q58 - Government Policy

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