Bebbington (2015) argues resource extraction is linked to which outcomes?

• A. Development and inequality, displacement, and environmental degradation.
• B. Economic development with no social costs.
• C. Only positive impacts on local communities.
• D. Nature preservation with no harm.

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is how resource extraction relates to real-world outcomes for people and places. Bebbington argues that extractive activities bring both potential development gains and significant social and environmental costs. They can create jobs, infrastructure, and revenue that support growth, but the benefits are often uneven and accompanied by inequality, displacement of communities, and damage to ecosystems and landscapes. This mixture explains why the strongest answer links development with inequality, displacement, and environmental degradation. Other possibilities that suggest no social costs, only positive impacts, or no harm to nature miss the lived complexities described in his work.