Economic Fortunes and Legitimacy: The Rise and Fall of a Mining Project in Northern Sweden

Resource development in the Arctic creates dilemmas. It brings potential socio-economic improvement to entire regions, helps infrastructure remain modern, and may rejuvenate demographics. But these sought after benefits often come with environmental cost and social change while competing with existing industries. Many small communities in the Arctic must make difficult decisions on which projects to support or reject; thus the legitimacy of these its operations gains increasing importance. This study assesses the connection between legitimacy and economic outcomes for mining development in northern Sweden. It looks at the community of Pajala using economic performance data on the municipality while the mine was operational and after operations ceased and comparing it against interviews conducted with local residents; focused on the perception of the mining company and the industry more broadly to gain insight into the legitimacy of the project. The results hold important lessons for resource development throughout the Arctic.