Mineral endowment, labor productivity, and comparative advantage in mining

Labor productivity in the U.S. copper mining industry tripled between 1975 and 1995, allowing the industry to recover its comparative advantage. Mine level data on output and labor input indicate that over three-quarters of this increase came from labor productivity growth at individual mines, and less than a quarter from shifts in output from low- to high-productivity mines. This finding supports the hypothesis that new technology and innovation are as important or more important than mineral endowment in shaping labor productivity trends and comparative advantage in mining.