Call for Papers - SI on Resource Curse vs. Resource Blessing

Special Issue on Resource Curse vs. Resource Blessing

Aims and Scope
The transition from resource curse to resource blessing requires a high-quality institution. Richard Auty first used the phrase "resource curse", also known as the “paradox of plenty" to describe the paradoxical inability of countries rich in mineral resources to use that wealth to strengthen their economies. Theoretically, natural resources are a valuable source of revenue and thus may be expected to promote economic growth. However, compared to countries with fewer natural resources, earlier studies found that countries with abundant natural resources experienced lower economic growth. This particular phenomenon is known as the “resource curse".


There has been a lot of research on the resource curse, with economic development and rent-seeking as the primary lenses through which its causes and mechanisms of transmission have been examined. But with the ongoing global financial crisis caused by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with mounting environmental issues, the need for institutional reform and human development is more urgent than ever. Solutions are needed to help translate wealth from natural resources into economic growth in a more sustainable manner. In this special issue, we want to revisit and investigate (i) how institutions and human capital can promote resource blessing, and (ii) why the resource curse persists in some regions despite institutional reforms.

Lead Guest Editors

Huaping Sun
Jiangsu University, China
Research Interests: Global Value Chains and International Trade, Industrial Organization and Environmental Economics, Regional Economy and Sustainable Development

Bless Kofi
Jiangsu University, China
Research Interests: Energy Efficiency, Innovation for Sustainable Development, Renewable Energy

Guest Editors

Muyi Yang
University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Research Interests: Energy Market Reform, Energy Decarbonisation and Sustainability, Transport Electrification, Governance and Political Economy

Wei Wei
Central China Normal University, China
Research Interests: International Business, Regional Economics, Environmental Economics

Zhen Liu
Nanjing Normal University, China
Research Interests: Resource Economics, Environmental Economics, Development Economics

Special Issue Information
The contributions from researchers describing their original, unpublished, research contribution on the following theme (but not limited to):
· Human capital investment and resource curse mitigation
· Institutional quality, energy efficiency, and resource blessing
· Natural resource dependence and public financial expenditure
· Natural resource dependence and zombie enterprise revitalization
· The role of green financial system in alleviating the resource curse
· International trade, global value chain and resource curse mitigation
· The role of environmental innovation in achieving resources blessing
· Reform of resource property right system and rent seeking regulation
· Resource and environmental governance and transformation of low-carbon economy

Manuscript Submission Information
Submission deadline: December 31, 2023
Submissions that pass pre-check will be reviewed by at least two reviewers of the specific field.
Free fast publication and early access will be provided to all accepted papers.

If you have any queries regarding this special issue or other matters, please feel free to contact the editorial office: glce@bonviewpress.com.