A Study Of Resources Exploitation And Regional Economic Growth

Abscract:In recent decades of economic development at home and abroad, we find abundant natural resources does not necessarily bring economic rapid growth. In many areas of the rich natural resources, the economic growth is far lower than the natural resource-poor areas.This paper first introduces the related concepts and theory of relationship between natural resources and economic growth. Through studying the influence mechanism of natural resources for economic growth, we found that the negative impact on regional economic growth from natural resources is usually caused by resources industry reducing manufacturing investment followed "Dutch disease" effect and reducing the effective human capital accumulation and innovation activities.Based on Chinese provincial panel data as samples, we do empirical testing for the relationship between natural resources and economic growth, whose results show that in general situation in China, rich natural resources did not become the Gospel of the economic development of our country but has restricted the economic development in our country.In order to illustrate the relationship between natural resources and economic growth more clearly, we do empirical analysis for the indirectly affect on economic growth from natural resources. The results showed that within the scope of our country, natural resources have a negative impact on manufacturing, human capital and innovation activities, while manufacturing, human capital and innovation has significant promoting effect on economic growth. Natural resources affect economic growth through the three pathways, In which natural resources affect economic growth through manufacturing play the biggest role, resources affect economic growth through human capital play the least role.Finally, this article quantify the influence of natural resources on economic growth and compare the influence of different areas of natural resources on economic growth and the degree of opening to the outside world. Then we find that the lower level of opening to the outside world, the more inhibition effect from natural resource on economic growth, if the higher the degree of opening to the outside world, the inhibition effect from natural resources on economic growth will be weakened. For region have abundance natural resource but fall into resource trap, it can improve the degree of opening to the outside to mitigate the inhibition effect on economic growth from Natural resources.