Frontiers and sustainable economic development |
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Authors: | Edward B Barbier |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Economics and Finance, University of Wyoming, Department 3985, Ross Hall 162 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY 82071, USA |
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Abstract: | Exploiting new resource “frontiers,” such as agricultural land and mineral reserves, is a fundamental feature of economic
development in poor economies. Yet frontier-based development is symptomatic of a pattern of economy-wide resource exploitation
in developing economies that: (a) generates little additional economic rents, and (b) what rents are generated are not being
reinvested in other sectors. Such development is inherently unsustainable. The following paper explains this phenomenon, and
provides evidence that long-run expansion of agricultural land and oil and natural gas proved reserves across poor economies
is associated with lower levels of real income per capita. The paper proposes a frontier expansion hypothesis to explain why the structural economic dependence of these economies on frontier land expansion and resource exploitation
is not conducive to sustained long-run growth. The key to sustainable economic development in poor economies will be improving
the economic integration between frontier and other sectors of the economy, targeting policies to improved resource management
in frontier areas and overcoming problems of corruption and rent-seeking in resource sectors.
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Keywords: | Economic development Frontier Natural capital Natural resources Resource-abundant economies Sustainable development |
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