Resource-rich Countries Research Articles

The perceptions of Autistic school students of their well-being at school: a meta-synthesis

ABSTRACT Students identifying as autistic, whose numbers have grown rapidly in recent years, often encounter a lack of understanding from teachers and peers at school, and face high levels of bullying and interpersonal abuse. Increasing knowledge of autistic students’ own understanding of their wellbeing is important for developing appropriate intervention strategies to support their school experience. In this meta-synthesis, 22 in-depth qualitative studies of 10–14-year-old students’ perspectives on their wellbeing at school were systematically analysed. The 225 students in these studies were mostly male and from resource-rich countries. Three synthesised findings were identified: first, autistic students’ wellbeing is connected to positive relationships at school; second, autistic students’ wellbeing at school centres around their self-identity; and third, the experience of school environments impacts autistic students’ wellbeing. Findings suggest first, that schools need to support the development of positive relationships between autistic students, their peers and teachers; second, that schools need to respond to how autistic students identify themselves and provide support appropriate to that identity; and third, that autistic students’ sensory needs need to be better supported through improved school design. Implications for practice include development of rights-based approaches and privileging autistic students’ own ideas about wellbeing and inclusion at school.

Resource nationalism: the intersection of politics and economics

Resource nationalism has a complex economic, political, and cultural history and reality. The evolution of the supply and demand structure of the global mineral metal market influences it. It is closely linked to the “economic-political” system within resource-rich countries. We analyze the ‘economic-political’ logic of resource nationalist behavior using the two-tier game theory. We examine 261 cases of resource nationalism since 1990 and test the theoretical hypotheses using quantitative techniques. The results show that rising mineral prices are the main trigger for contemporary resource nationalism. However, ideology, institutional quality, social climate, and economic dependence within resource countries play a non-negligible role. Resource wealth dependence in host countries makes it difficult for policymakers to escape national resource interventions. We argue that (1) The global economic trading system imbalance is the root of resource nationalism. (2) Resource nationalism is an endeavor by resource-rich countries to seek entitlements from mineral resource endowments. (3) Resource nationalism is not a zero-sum competition in the national economic trading system. In the face of the potential risks posed by resource nationalism to the global supply of minerals, the relevant interest groups should have sufficient strategic reserves to cope with the possible game of interests.

Governance effects on resource rent management and resource pollution

The issue of the resource curse has become critical for resource-rich countries in recent decades. This study empirically examines the impact of governance quality on the resource curse in 20 major resource-rich nations from 2004 to 2019. Using World Bank governance indicators, it assesses the effects of voice and accountability, government effectiveness, and control of corruption on a composite resource curse index, which includes resource rent and pollution. CS-ARDL results show that improvements in governance indicators reduce the resource curse in both the short and long term, with the largest impact seen from control of corruption. These findings highlight the crucial role of governance in addressing the resource curse.

The role of natural resources rent, trade openness and technological innovations on environmental sustainability – Evidence from resource-rich african nations

Environmental sustainability is fundamental in ensuring the needs of current generation are not met through exhausting the resources available to meet the needs of the future generations. Nature provides key resources required as factors of production in the production of goods and services. Therefore, it is important to maintain and protect the environment, ensuring that these resources do not deplete. This study investigates the role of technological innovations, trade openness, economic growth and natural resource rents in maintaining environmental sustainability. The data of the top ten natural resource-rich African countries are used for the time ranging from 1996 to 2023. The main novelty of the research is that it considers countries with abundance natural resources in ascertaining the influence of natural resources on environmental sustainability; hence, ascertaining the existence of resource curse in developing nations with abundance natural resources. Data is analysed with the Methods of Moments Quantile Regression that present robust results when heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependency are present. We present that technological innovations, trade openness, renewable energy and governance promote environmental sustainability in these resource-rich nations of Africa. Technological innovations fosters environmental sustainability in the long and short term. We also present that economic growth and natural resource rents worsen the quality of the environment, through raising the emission of carbon. Specifically, natural resource rents significantly raises the emission of carbon in the long term. Policies proposed advocates for the advancement in the rule of law of nations and the promotion of technological innovations.

How do e-government and green technology innovation affect carbon emissions: Evidence from resource-rich countries in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

The global challenges related to climate change and carbon emissions are constantly escalating. It is important to explore the factors that affect carbon emissions in countries rich in natural resources. However, the nexus among natural resources, e-government, green technology innovation, and carbon emissions has not yet been demonstrated. Therefore, this study explores the impact of the above three dependent variables on carbon emissions using data from five resource-rich SCO countries spanning from 2000 to 2022. This study further controls the quality of the institution and GDP. Unlike existing studies, it introduces an innovative interaction term between e-government and green technology innovation. The cross-sectional enhanced distributed hysteresis (CS-ARDL) method was employed for the analysis. The findings indicate that natural resources and GDP positively contribute to carbon emissions, while institutional quality and the interaction between green technology innovation and e-government have a negative impact. In the short run, green technology innovation has a non-significant impact on carbon emissions, while e-government has a positive impact. However, in the long run, both green technology innovation and e-government have a negative impact on carbon emissions. These findings suggest that promoting the simultaneous development of e-government and green technology innovation can help reduce carbon emissions. The paper is of great significance for further promoting the construction of e-government. In addition, the paper is of great reference value for policymakers in launching carbon reduction policies.

Can Lithium OPEC be Realized? Feasibility Analysis of South America’s Lithium Cartel

Global warming has driven the historical shift towards clean energy, with lithium playing a crucial role in this green transition and becoming a focal point of global competition. Due to its high performance and widespread application in manufacturing lightweight energy storage batteries, lithium is at the forefront of electrification, which is essential for achieving zero emissions. Latin America, home to over half of the world’s lithium resources, sees an extraordinary opportunity in this monumental transition. Lithium-producing countries in Latin America are currently proposing a lithium OPEC to influence pricing and enhance profitability. This study evaluates the feasibility of such a cartel and examines the challenges using the framework of commodity cartels, analyzing factors such as demand, supply, production, market structure, and synergies. The paper concludes that resource-rich countries in Latin America are correct in their assessment of the prospects for developing their lithium industry amidst the global energy transition. However, the proposal of a lithium OPEC might be too radical given the current production capacity and market influence of the involved countries. Latin America should seek more practical approaches to develop lithium resources through various regional collaborations and the adoption of new technologies.

Natural resource extraction - Sustainable development relationship and energy productivity moderation in resource-rich countries: A panel Bayesian regression analysis

Social development is essential for improving quality of life, fostering stability, driving economic growth, achieving sustainable goals, enhancing human capital, encouraging civic engagement, building resilience, and fostering innovation, thereby ensuring inclusive, equitable, and sustainable progress. The Social Progress Index (SPI), also known as social development, contains all these features. This study aims to examine the impact of natural resource extraction on social development quadratically using data from 2011 to 2022. The focus of the study is on resource-rich countries. In this study, productive capacity in the energy sector is used as a social development determinant and a natural resource consumption moderator, ensuring sustainability in social development. Analyzing the quadratic relationship allows us to model and understand nonlinear relationships between the predictor and the outcome variable, capturing the effects that change direction or strength at different levels of the predictor. In this study, Bayesian regression is incorporated as an econometric approach. It provides more flexible modelling, incorporates prior knowledge, and offers a full distribution of parameter estimates, leading to better uncertainty quantification and more robust predictions. These estimates confirms a U-shaped natural resource extraction and social development relationship. Energy productive capacities in resource-rich countries not only enhance social development but also ensure the sustainable extraction of natural resources leading to sustainable social development. Population density and biodiversity are incorporated as control variables of the model. The impact of both is positive on social development.

The Nexus between Illicit Financial Flows and Tax Revenue: New Evidence from Resource-Rich African Countries

Resource-rich economies, especially those in Africa, are plagued with the resource curse and Dutch Disease syndromes, which undermine the quest for effectively mobilizing domestic resources toward sustainable and inclusive development. Empirical evidence on the role illicit financial flow (IFF) plays in this regard is relatively scarce. Thus, this study evaluates the volume of IFF and its effect on tax revenue in seven resource-rich African countries. Panel data, sourced for the 2009-2021 period, were analysed using the fixed effect and random effect models while the Instrumental Variable Generalised Method of Moment (IV-GMM), a dynamic estimator, was used for robustness check. Findings revealed that IFF has been on the rise and has detrimental effects on the tax revenue of the sampled countries’ national governments. This is inimical to sustainable development. Thus, the governments and policymakers in these countries must develop pragmatic policy and institutional approaches toward tackling the IFF menace.

Exploring the Impact of Green Finance and Green Innovation on Resource Efficiency: The Mediating Role of Market Regulations and Environmental Regulations

Green finance, innovation, and resource efficiency have gained significant traction recently, particularly in resource-rich countries. This study investigates the role of green finance and innovation in resource efficiency with the mediating lens of environmental regulations and market rules. The study employs a structural equation model on a panel of 15 resource-rich countries from 1995 to 2023. The findings illustrate a complicated interplay between the variables. First, the findings show that green financing positively and negatively affects resource efficiency. In contrast, green innovation constantly improves resource efficiency. Market rules have a favorable impact on resource efficiency. Environmental laws, however, hurt resource efficiency. Furthermore, the study reveals that green financing favors market regulations, implying that financial expenditures in green initiatives might strengthen regulatory frameworks that promote market efficiency. In contrast, green finance harms environmental rules, and green innovation harms both market and environmental regulations. In addition, we divided the sample into developed and developing nations and offered a sub-group analysis to take into consideration the variations in the degree of national development and green advances to further improve the analysis. Overall, the study emphasizes the multifaceted role of green finance and innovation in increasing resource efficiency within regulatory frameworks. These findings are critical for policymakers and stakeholders in resource-rich countries seeking to reconcile economic growth with sustainable development.

Advancing mineral-energy nexus for development (MEND) in Africa: A case study of Chinese lithium mining project in Zimbabwe

Providing sustainable energy solutions for critical mineral investments presents significant challenges, particularly in the context of resource-rich but energy-poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We developed an analytical framework to understand the role of the mineral-energy nexus in delivering developmental co-benefits (MEND). We identified four criteria of developmental co-benefits, namely (1) local electrification, (2) climate mitigation (via renewable energy technologies), (3) enhanced ‘last mile’ power infrastructures, and (4) re-distributive revenues for power sector reforms. By applying this framework to a case study of Chinese lithium mining investment in Zimbabwe, we illustrated the innovative potentials of the investors on the ground, the urgent need to nurture collaborative networks and risk-sharing mechanisms for local electrification, and the lack of regulatory and financial support for the investments on mineral-energy nexus.

Pathways to sustainability: Evaluating the impact of green energy, natural resources, FinTech, and environmental policies in resource-abundant countries

The escalating concerns about ecological sustainability have made the consumption of resources a crucial global issue. The speedy growth of the economy is heavily reliant on excessive consumption of resources, which significantly contributes to the imbalance between biodiversity and ecological footprint, resulting in a decrease in the carrying capacity. Both researchers and policymakers strive to enhance the amount of financial capital in the present time while ensuring that the country's economic growth remains unaffected. The primary objective of this study is to analyze the impact of green energy, financial technology (FinTech), and environmental regulations on enhancing the environmental sustainability of resource-rich countries from 1992 to 2022. To address problems with cross-sectional dependency and slope heterogeneity, this study employs the CS- ARDL model. The long-term results indicate that the reliance on income from natural resources decreased the load capacity factor. However, the load capacity factor was improved by shifting to green energy, adopting fintech, and implementing environmental regulations. The utilization of the AMG and CCEMG estimate procedures enhances the validity of the research findings. These findings provide essential policy recommendations for all stakeholder involved.

Transparency, institutions, and investment: The case of the extractive industries transparency initiative (EITI)

Since the establishment of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), many resource-rich countries have joined international transparency initiatives. Considering that resource-rich countries have historically preferred opacity, this trend is surprising. Once a country joins the EITI, the country reports on its revenues, contracts, and licenses related to natural resources. The disclosure of information on resource revenues could threaten the survival of the leadership in less transparent democratic and autocratic regimes. In the face of the threats posed by enhanced transparency, these countries maintain their EITI membership, but for what reason? Using newly released data, this study argues that countries participate in international transparency initiatives to signal a favorable economic environment to international investors. This study demonstrates that under the self-reporting mechanism, investors reward or punish a country according to the level of its EITI membership. Based on an empirical analysis of 128 countries using two-stage least squares regression and the instrumental variable estimation in order to deal with selection bias and endogeneity (2002–2015), this study finds that joining in the EITI has a stronger positive effect on the inflow of foreign direct in-vestment (FDI) in less transparent countries, than in more transparent ones.

Pros and Cons of APOE4 Homozygosity and Effects on Neuroplasticity, Malnutrition, and Infections in Early Life Adversity, Alzheimer's Disease, and Alzheimer's Prevention.

Fortea et al.'s. (2024) recent data analysis elegantly calls attention to familial late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) with APOE4 homozygosity. The article by Grant (2024) reviews the factors associated with AD, particularly the APOE genotype and lifestyle, and the broad implications for prevention, both for individuals with the lifestyles associated with living in resource-rich countries and for those enduring environmental adversity in poverty settings, including high exposure to enteric pathogens and precarious access to healthcare. Grant discusses the issue of APOE genotype and its implications for the benefits of lifestyle modifications. This review highlights that bearing APOE4 could constitute an evolutionary benefit in coping with heavy enteric infections and malnutrition early in life in the critical formative first two years of brain development. However, the critical issue may be that this genotype could be a health concern under shifts in lifestyle and unhealthy diets during aging, leading to severe cognitive impairments and increased risk of AD. This commentary supports the discussions of Grant and the benefits of improving lifestyle for decreasing the risks for AD while providing further understanding and modelling of the early life benefits of APOE4 amidst adversity. This attention to the pathophysiology of AD should help further elucidate these critical, newly appreciated pathogenic pathways for developing approaches to the prevention and management in the context of the APOE genetic variations associated with AD.

The role of African extractive industries in the global energy transition: An analysis of barriers and strategies

Endowed with a significant proportion of the world’s petroleum and solid mineral resources, Africa is the location of a vibrant and dynamic extractive industries sector, which today, is its chief economic mainstay. The revenue generated from the extractive industries has been a significant source of finance for public infrastructure development and investments in education, health and the development of other economic sectors across the continent. However, the African extractive industries have faced massive setbacks in recent years, in particular due to the economic disruptions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and the global transition to a low carbon economy that has formed a central part of ongoing efforts to respond to the climate change emergency. These challenges have accentuated concerns on the current and future relevance of the African extractive industries in a low-carbon economy world order.This article examines the role played by the African extractive industries in the global energy transition, contextualising these concerns against a continuum of disruption arising as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and emergent efforts to redress the crisis posed by anthropogenic climate change. If well managed, extractive resources could play a crucial role in advancing energy security and transition in the African continent in the face of these challenges. In addition to its role in addressing current high levels of energy poverty across Africa in this disruptive setting, environmentally-responsible production of extractive resources can help sustain economic and social development across Africa in going forward. This article examines the current opportunities and challenges for cleaner and environmentally-responsible extractive investments in Africa in a low carbon world. It analyses the preconditions and barriers to environmentally-responsible fossil fuels developments in Africa and highlights the key considerations for African policymakers. Its analysis is informed by recognition of, and sensitivity towards, the extreme disruption to fossil fuel governance embodied by the twin concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic and the current “climate emergency.” Through a qualitative analysis, this research has found that if well-managed, African resource-rich countries could utilise the revenues from the extractive industries to invest in low carbon technologies.

The driving factors of economic growth divergence in resource-rich countries

Growth divergence in resource-rich countries extends the debate over the resource curse hypothesis. The present study examines the relationship between natural resources and economic growth and its transmission channel, with panel data from 95 countries and between 1970 and 2017. It applies two different models such as Panel CS-ARDL and System-GMM to obtain a robust result of the relationship between natural resources and economic growth. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that it attempts to explain the growth divergence in resource-rich countries by examining the impact of natural resources on economic growth and its transmission channels for each per capita income group. CS-ARDL model does not confirm the results from system-GMM, which indicates the existence of resource curse for the panel of all countries. The other results from CS-ARDL support the evidence for the resource curse only in the low income countries and the blessing hypothesis in the developed ones. Low investment and poor total factor productivity are shown to be among the transmission channel of the negative impact of natural resource on economic growth in the developing country.

Resource Rents, Genuine Savings and Sustainable Development: Revisiting the Evidence

Economic theory on sustainable development suggests that resource-rich countries should reinvest the rents from natural resource extraction in other forms of capital to ensure that future consumption level of the economy can be greater than or at least equal to the level of their current consumption. Several seminal papers in the early 2000s indicated that the correlation between genuine savings and future consumption was weaker than theory predicted, at least when genuine savings were measured using the World Bank estimates. This paper revisits the issue and replicates two of these earlier studies to see whether the correlation has become stronger over time, on the back of policy changes in resource-rich countries and of revisions to the World Bank estimates. The results indicate that the correlation between genuine savings and future consumption growth may be stronger for poorer countries than for richer, and for sub-Saharan Africa, the theoretical predictions appear to hold.

Cyclicality of public debt in developing countries: Does dependence on natural resources matter?

We revisit the resource curse theory, producing empirical evidence of the importance of natural resources on the cyclical orientation of public debt. Using the Driscoll-Kraay fixed-effects method and panel data from 51 developing countries for the period 1986 to 2020, we show that natural resource rents accentuate the procyclicality of public debt. However, our results suggest that the impact of natural resource endowment in procyclicality does not have the same magnitude when taking into account (i) the disaggregation of public debt, (ii) alternative measures of natural resource rent and (iii) the division of the sample into African and non-African countries. More specifically, natural resource rents amplify the procyclicality of external public debt more than domestic public debt. In addition, we find that while coal and forest rents have no effect on the cyclical orientation of public debt, mineral and especially oil rents do amplify the procyclical nature of public debt. Finally, our results show that the accentuation of the procyclical nature of public debt generated by the interaction between the economic cycle and natural resource endowment is more pronounced in African developing countries than in non-African developing countries. Our results shed new light on the Dutch disease hypothesis, and have relevant policy implications for governments in resource-rich countries wishing to move towards counter-cyclical fiscal interventions.

Analysis of the Causal Relationship between Money Supply, Foreign Reserves and Bank Credit in Oil Countries: Evidence from Iraq

This study investigates the causal relationships among money supply, foreign reserves, and bank credit in Iraq, a major oil-producing economy. Understanding these interconnected variables is crucial for effective monetary policy formulation and macroeconomic stability. this study employs the Toda-Yamamoto approach to Granger causality testing and quarterly data spanning from 2004 to 2022 to capture the dynamics following the Iraq War and explore the post-conflict economic landscape. Granger causality tests are conducted to determine the direction of causality among the variables. Impulse response functions and variance decompositions provide insights into the magnitude and persistence of shocks, shedding light on the relative importance of each variable in influencing the others. The empirical findings reveal a bidirectional causal relationship between money supply and foreign reserves, indicating that changes in one variable significantly influence the other. Additionally, a unidirectional causality is observed, running from foreign reserves to bank credit, highlighting the significance of foreign exchange reserves in facilitating bank lending. However, no causal link is detected between money supply and bank credit, suggesting that monetary policy may have limited direct impact on credit expansion in Iraq’s banking sector. These results have important policy implications for the Central Bank of Iraq in managing monetary policy tools and navigating the challenges of an oil-dependent economy. The study contributes to the literature on monetary economics in resource-rich countries and provides valuable insights for policymakers and researchers alike.

The impact of Chinese investment on access to clean and sustainable energy in Africa

The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between Chinese investment and access to clean and sustainable energy in African countries. We are motivated by the increasing engagement between China and Africa and the priority of sustainable energy for both partners. We employ robust econometric modelling, including fixed effects and the two-step Generalized Method of Moments, on a panel sample of 43 African countries over 19 years. The results show that Chinese energy investment in Africa is significantly associated with increased access to sustainable electricity. This effect is more pronounced in resource-rich countries, suggesting that China is more attracted to these countries due to the opportunities for resource trade in the form of partnerships. The policy implication of this finding is that it highlights the importance of African governments developing favourable strategies and policies to attract more Chinese investments in the energy sector.

A Cross-Sectional Study of Labor Analgesia Practices Across India

Introduction: Labour analgesia practices have evolved significantly over the past years, with most of the current practices being evidence-based. Labour analgesia is considered a standard of care in resource-rich countries. However, in resource-limited countries such as India, there is a lack of awareness, and round the clock availability of labour analgesia services across the country. This raises significant challenges in establishing successful labour analgesia programs. Methods: This survey was conducted using multi-question Google Form@, so as to improve our understanding of labour analgesia practices in India. Our primary objective was to study the prevalence of labour analgesia practices amongst anaesthesiologists across India. Our secondary objectives included the work profile of anaesthesiologists providing labour analgesia, common techniques of labour analgesia practised, drugs used and common complications as well as side-effects encountered. Results: The results of our survey showed that 72.9% of the respondents practised labour analgesia in one form or the other. Practitioners in non-government facilities such as private hospitals, private medical colleges, and nursing homes accounted for more than 60% of the total labour analgesia delivered. Government medical colleges fared the best among practitioners at government-owned facilities. Approximately 85% of those polled agreed that the most common way of pain relief in a labouring patient was regional analgesia. The most prevalent was labour epidural (59.4%), followed by a single shot spinal analgesic, while 29% of anaesthesiologists used systemic analgesia. Conclusion: The impediments to delivering widespread labour analgesia services across India were poor infrastructure and high costs.