The natural resources curse-economic growth hypotheses: Quantile-on-Quantile evidence from top Asian economies

Several economists assume natural resources as crucial and essential for economic growth. However, the other group of researchers questions the role and states that richness of natural resources does not guarantee economic growth. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the effect of natural resources on economic growth using time series data from 1970 to 2018. The current study has applied a novel methodology of quantile-on-quantile regression in top five selected Asian economies which have the most natural resources in the region. The findings confirm that natural resources have a positive and significant impact on economic growth in all countries, except India. The findings confirm that the effect of natural resources on economic growth is negative and significant in the Indian economy. The findings affirm that in most of the countries, the results are significant and positive on the high quantiles of natural resources and economic growth, suggesting that the higher the rent of natural resources leads to the higher the economic performance of five selected Asian economies. Based on the findings, government and policymakers are recommended to formulate the policy that provides a platform to use the NR in a better and efficient manner, which can help the country to boost the economic performance. (c) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study finds that natural resources have a positive and significant impact on economic growth in most Asian countries, except India, where the impact is negative and significant. The results suggest that a higher rent of natural resources leads to higher economic performance in the selected Asian economies.