Abstract
International trade levels can change the relationship between resource endowments and green economic growth. Therefore, this study tested the resource curse hypothesis from the perspective of green growth in China using provincial-level panel data for 2005–2017. Energy conservation and environmental improvement were considered under green growth to further analyze the regional mechanism of the resource curse. A panel threshold model was used to identify the impact of import and export threshold effects on the transformation of this mechanism. The resource curse hypothesis was found to be valid nationwide; it hindered green economic growth mainly by impeding energy conservation and curbing environmental improvement. In terms of regional differences in green growth, resource endowment had a positive impact on the eastern region, a negative impact on the central region, and no effect on the western region. When the levels of import and export trade exceeded the threshold values, the resource curse effect was enhanced by reducing energy conservation and weakened by promoting environmental improvement, respectively. Therefore, the Chinese government should establish a more reasonable import and export trade structure, promote changes to the energy structure and green technological innovation, and reduce the negative impact of resource endowment on green growth.
Highlights
Abundant natural resources are important sources of national economic growth as they are indispensable input factors for production
Because green total factor productivity (TFP) can be decomposed into the energy conservation effect and the environmental improvement effect, we examined the influence of resource endowment on the two effects in both models above to identify the route by which the resource curse phenomenon changes
The concept of development in this study is not limited to economic growth, but it evaluates the quality of economic development from multiple dimensions, such as energy conservation, environmental improvement, and economic growth
Summary
Abundant natural resources are important sources of national economic growth as they are indispensable input factors for production. By weakening the impetus for technological innovation [2] and hindering high-quality economic development; this is termed as the resource curse [3]. This phenomenon is reflected at the regional level in China, where Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Heilongjiang are rich in mineral resources; in recent years, the economic development level of these provinces has remained lower than that of the southeast coastal regions [4]. Since joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), China has been committed to economic and trade exchanges with other countries, pursuing a high-growth economic development model and producing numerous low-tech value-added primary products. The Chinese government has gradually recognized the importance of conserving
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