Research on Resource Curse Effect of Resource-Dependent Cities: Case Study of Qingyang, Jinchang and Baiyin in China

Abstract

For a specific small-scale region with abundant resources, its copious resources tend to dictate the basic direction of its development, and may subsequently give rise to an industrial structure centered on the advantageous resources. This can give rise to an economic structure that lacks diversity, causing the economic development in the entire local region to fall into the dilemma of the resource curse. The present study conducts a case study from the perspective of small-scale regions, incorporating various types of resource-dependent cities in China, including Qingyang, Jinchang, and Baiyin, to interpret and analyze the resource curse effect by calculating a resource curse coefficient. Moreover, based on the regression model, the present study further discusses the empirical relations associated with the resource curse phenomenon. The results show that, regardless of whether a resource-dependent city is in the early, intermediate or late stage of its resource development, economic development is always plagued by the resource curse effect to a certain degree. Resource development cannot promote economic development, rather, it inhibits economic growth to some extent, resulting in an array of effects that are unfavorable to economic development, rendering the development unsustainable. For different types of resource-dependent cities, resource curse effect exhibits distinct characteristics. The resource curse effect is strongest for a resource-dependent city during an economic recession, is less severe during a development period, and is weakest during maturation. Resource development not only has a direct adverse impact on economic growth, but also often affects economic growth in multiple ways and on various levels through the Dutch disease effect, the crowding out effect, and the institution weakening effect. Until now, most results show that there is no obvious resource curse effect at the national and provincial level. The verification results of small-scale regions show that the resource curse effect at the city level still exists. In addition, the resource curse effect differs across different types of resource-dependent cities.

Spatiotemporal Analysis and Control of Landscape Eco-Security at the Urban Fringe in Shrinking Resource Cities: A Case Study in Daqing, China

“…Combining expert opinions with the relevant references [29,30,31,32,33], the specific index calculation methods are shown in Table 5.…”

Spatio-Temporal Differentiation and Driving Mechanism of the “Resource Curse” of the Cultivated Land in Main Agricultural Production Regions: A Case Study of Jianghan Plain, Central China

“…In China, many empirical studies have been carried out at the national and provincial levels [37]. For example, Xu and Wang [38] selected raw coal, crude oil, and pig iron as representatives of natural resources to study.…”

“…First, the research objects are mostly concentrated on coal, oil, gold, and other traditional natural resources. Second, the research areas are mostly focused on the macro-level [37,39]. However, the larger spatial scale is easy to ignore the smaller regional category's spatial heterogeneity, thus covering up the role of resource abundance on economic growth.…”

Resource Price Fluctuations, Resource Dependence and Sustainable Growth

“…Zhang and Brouwer [17] analyzed 44 studies published in Chinese between 2005 and 2017, and found that the existence of the resource curse was ambiguous in China. Lu et al [6] found that the resource curse effect is strongest for a resource-dependent city during an economic recession, less severe during a development period, and weakest during maturation with a case study of Qingyang, Jinchang, and Baiyin in China.…”

“…Many studies have tested the theory of the resource curse. However, scholars have not taken resource price fluctuations into consideration [1][2][3][4][5][6], with the exception of Douglas and Walker [7]. Actually, in resource-rich areas, the resource industry makes up a large portion of the national economy, and resource price fluctuations exert a greater influence on local economic growth.…”