Resource Rents, Urbanization and Structural Transformation

时间：2023年3月13日（周一）10:10-11:40

讲座形式：线上讲座

Zoom线上会议号：886 9873 1674

密码：806663

主持人：赵波 

主讲人：QING HUANG (Princeton University)

摘要：We study the role of resource rents in explaining the distinct urbanization and structural transformation patterns, observed in many developing countries in the last few decades. We present a simple model where the effect of resource rents on urbanization and structural transformation depends on income redistribution between rural and urban areas. Combining several spatially granular data sets by geography, including global property-level mining data, global high-resolution population data layer, and the population census microdata, we empirically test the question at the city level on a global scale and estimate the causal effect of mineral price shocks of nearby mines on city outcomes. We find that on a global average, mining booms result in an increase in the urban population, and the reallocation of labor from agriculture to low-skilled services. The effects are mainly driven by African cities, consistent with the phenomenon of “Urbanization without Industrialization” in these countries. We explore several potential mechanisms. The evidence suggests that low opportunity cost due to low agricultural productivity in African countries incentivizes rural farmers to migrate in response to income shock instantiated by mining booms.

主讲人简介：Qing Huang is the postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University and Peking University. She received her PhD from Peking University in 2021. Her research interests are in development economics, international trade, urban economics, entrepreneurship. She has published papers in the Journal of Economic Growth, Chinese Sociological Review, China Journal of Economics, Journal of Finance and Economics.