Study On The Path Dependence Of Industrial Development And Ecnomic Transformation In Coal Resource-based Cities

The extensive mode of the ecnomic development and the single pillar industry based on the coal resourses has produced a great ecnomic and social negative impact on the coal resource-dependent city due to the scarcity and non-renewable nature of the coal resources. So it is inevitable to implement economic transformation for such a city. In 1970s, having analysed the orientation and approach of the economic transformation on the basis of the issues appeared in the course of economic development in a coal resource-based city and providing a powerful theoretical basis for implementing the ecnomic transformation. After years of efforts, initial success has been achieved in such a transformation, but there are still problems unresolved. Therefore the article is intended to analyze the inherent formation mechanism of path dependence of industrial development in coal resource-based cities, to point out the deep-seated reasons for impeding the ecnomic transformation and to give solutions to remove the obstacles to the transformation, resulting in promoting the smooth progress of the ecnomic transformation.In this paper,based on the path dependence theory in the New Institutional Economics and normative analysis and empirical analysis, I have studied that Lock-in effect, the formation mechanism of path dependence of industrial development and the relationship between path dependence of industrial development and economic transformation. Several suggestions for economic transformation in coal resource-based cities aso have been proposed. According to the article, those coal resource-based cities formed a crude type of model for the industrial development at the early times due to abundant natural resources, limitation to capital and technology, the government's policy on development of heavy industry as priority and huge demand for energy.The model has been reinforced as a result of self-enforcement of scale of economy, learning effects, coordination effects and adaptive expectations,leading the industry to develope on the inherent track to fall into path dependance. Because of the path dependence of industrial development in coal resource-based cities, the coal company's technology, function, cities'industrial structure and persons'cognitive become rigid. The coal resource-based cities'economic transformating can not be carried out smoothly. Therefore, China's coal resource-based cities must break through the self-reinforcing mechanism featuring scale of economies, learning effects, coordination effects and adaptive expectations of the role, and only by doing this can China's coal resource-based cities get rid of the industrial development path dependence and achieve a smooth economic transformation.There are many innovations in this article. The inherent formation reasons for path dependence of industry development in China's coal resource-based cities are analyzed and breakthroughs made in self-reinforcing mechanism are the key to getting rid of industrial development path dependence to achieve economic transformation. At the same time, there are also many weak points in it.The quantitative analysis of it in coal resource-based cities is not enough and the analysis of the formation mechanism of it is not convincing. These need to be further improved.