Coal endowment, resource curse, and high coal-consuming industries location: Analysis based on large-scale data

Against the background of a long-term mismatch between coal-producing and consuming regions in China, this study analyzed the location of high coal-consuming industries and factors influencing it using large-scale data with 10,500 observed values for 25 industrial sectors. The results revealed that high coal-consuming industries in China are mainly located in the eastern coastal and northern areas and are gradually moving from south to north. An estimation of a 3-D panel data model showed that, in addition to the degree of coal abundance, capital stock, human resources, and market potentials affect the location of high coal-consuming industries. After controlling for dimensional influences, we also found that the tendency of high coal-consuming industries to locate in areas with poor coal resources can be attributed to the stronger effects of non-coal factors than coal-related ones. In addition, low coal consuming industries prefer locating away from resource-abundant areas because of a resource curse in coal-producing regions, which further strengthens the mismatch between coal-producing and consuming regions. Our findings highlight the need for governments to prioritize improvements in infrastructure construction and education in western areas to steer industrial transfers. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.