Sustainable development: Uncovering the synergy between natural resources, clean technologies, and economic progress

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between natural resource rents and economic growth in Asian economies from 1990 to 2021, considering the impact of electricity generated from renewable sources, access to clean fuel technology, and research and development expenditures. The study uses time series data and employs the Bayer-Hanck cointegration analysis to examine long-term cointegration, along with least squares with known structural breaks for the main estimates and robust least squares method for the analysis. The findings suggest that access to clean fuel technology, natural gas rents, and oil rents significantly impact economic expansion without renewable electricity, while mineral rents have insignificant results. Including electricity from renewable energy, access to clean fuel technology, oil rents, and research and development expenditures suggest a positive association with economic growth. In contrast, natural gas rents and mineral rents produce negative results. The study concludes that there is an asymmetric relationship between natural resources and economic growth in the studied Asian economies. The study highlights the importance of effectively utilizing natural resources and promoting renewable energy in Asian economies with natural resource wealth to promote economic growth.