An Empirical Study of Shanxi’s Coal Resource-dependent Economic Development

Abstract: China’s economic development has made a remarkable achievement over the past three decades. However, compared with other developed economies, it still mainly relies on coal resources as its primary energy. As country’s leading coal resources producer, Shanxi is now in an awkward position. A possible explanation is this region suffering “Resource Curse”: that the abundant resources did not bring rapid and comprehensive development, but instead, it generated a series of severe constraints. This paper attempts to provide evidence for resource curse theory through comparing Resource Abundance Index with economic growth among China’s 27 regions; and then to analyse Shanxi' s plight from several particular aspects. It is relevant to show a picture that these constraints, as explanations to resource curse, based on Circular Cumulative Causation theory, has formed a backwash effects, which in turn exacerbated the resource curse on regional economic development.