Is China Affected by the Resource Curse? A Critical Review of the Chinese Literature

This meta-analysis aims to identify the relationship between natural resources abundance and economic growth in China to provide policy guidance for sustainable development. Empirical evidence was collected from 44 studies published in Chinese between 2005 and 2017 at provincial and city level. Results show that the existence of the resource curse is ambiguous. Although most of the studies conclude that the resource curse exists, particularly in the fast-growing central and western regions of China, a number of studies find the opposite. This latter finding is mainly attributed to other growth determinants and transition mechanisms, such as spillover effects driving the demand for natural resources and resulting in higher prices. Significant methodological advances have been made over the past decade, both in terms of the econometric modelling of causal relationships between economic growth and natural resources and the level of empirical control through the inclusion of new explanatory factors. However, in order to enhance the comparability of results, more attention should be paid to the types of resources and their measurement, alternative determinants of economic growth, such as new economic policies, as well as the application of appropriate econometric modeling approaches. The paper ends with policy recommendations.