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Mining plays an essential role in resource-rich countries given that it constitutes a source of raw materials and incomes capable of contributing to the economic growth. However, with the intensive mechanisation of mining operations and the modernisation of the ore-processing technologies in view of increasing the productiveness, growing amounts of mineralised rocks are currently excavated from open pit and underground mines. The increase in mining productiveness observed worldwide raises the thorny issue of the mineral wastes’ environmentally friendly management considering their great polluting capacity. Mineral wastes are composed of waste rocks and mine tailings from the flotation beneficiation of ores. The present research reviews over times the worldwide in-force practices in the management of mineral wastes, with particular focus to waste rocks and tailings generated by the flotation beneficiation of ores in view of extracting metals of interest. It discusses environmental issues in relationship with the management of mineral wastes from the DR Congo mining industry, analyses the applicability of both emerging and established techniques to their management, and identifies opportunities for further research with the aim of gaining extended knowledge that can enable considering alternative management solutions. Addressing in deep the relevant issue of mineral waste management, relying on relevant illustrations could help improve practices in the Congolese mining industry as well as gathering data intended for mining operators, researchers and academics interested in mineral waste management.

The study investigates the long-run impact of tourism development on ecological footprint by employing the time-varying coefficient cointegration approach (TVC), in addition to the conventional cointegration techniques in the case of Azerbaijan for the period of 1996–2014. Based on the TVC estimation results, the coefficient of tourism development, which is the income elasticity of environmental degradation, was found to be time invariant. The paper uses energy consumption, trade, urbanization, and institutional quality indicators as control explanatory variables. The estimation results revealed that trade and energy consumption have statistically significant and positive impact on ecological footprint, while the coefficients of the other explanatory variables were found to be insignificant. Both the conventional estimation methods and the TVC concluded that, for the relationship between ecological footprint and tourism development, the EKC hypothesis is not present in Azerbaijan. Policy implications for the resource-rich economies have been discussed.

In recent years, fluctuations in natural resource prices have significantly impacted the economies of countries that rely heavily on specific natural resources. Previous studies on resource-rich countries have primarily focused on natural resource industries, often overlooking the importance of developing non-natural resource industries, which in turn has constrained broader economic development. In response to this gap, the present study aims to explore how non-natural resource enterprises in resource-rich countries attain enterprise competitiveness. To achieve this, a qualitative case study approach is adopted, with oil-rich Brunei selected as the focal case. Based on the findings, this study proposes 5 strategic dimensions for Brunei's non-oil and gas sector – operation maintaining, financial diagnosing, organization flexibilizing, structure balancing, and development securing – which may serve as a valuable reference for other resource-rich countries seeking to pursue economic diversification.

Economic diversification is an essential aspect of sustainable development as diversification enhances macroeconomic stability and promotes structural and long-term transformation not only in the economy but also in other pillars of development such as social institutions and dimensions. There is empirical evidence suggesting an impact of economic and structural factors on diversification. However, there is no consensus on the results in the literature because of various factors, such as the employment of different variables, methodologies, countries, and periods. This paper empirically explores the relations driving economic diversification in 14 resource-rich countries between 2001 and 2019, with six alternative models. In this regard, feasible generalized least squares regression was employed for the proposed model specifications. It provides strong evidence that gross capital formation, financial development, labor force participation, education, and the rule of law have statistically significant and positive impacts on economic diversification performance. On the other hand, inward foreign direct investment, real GDP growth, and self-employment rate also have statistically significant, but negative, impacts on economic diversification, probably because they further promote or are a result of resource-based growth rather than diversification into other technology- and knowledge-based sectors.

Existing studies were centered on the factors that could mitigate the environmental degradation, but few of them were focused on finding radical solutions by examining the nexus between human and institutional capacities and green energy supply. The use of clean energy can be an alternative for this purpose that can improve the quality of the environment. This study aims to examine the role assigned to human and institutional capacities in order to boost the renewable energy sector on the supply side in the long-term, basing on the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS). Moreover, the study applies panel threshold regression to 21 natural resource–rich countries that are most exposed to the challenges of switching to renewable energy. So, the objective of the present study is to investigate the effects of the human facet and the different governance mechanisms on the renewable energy supply while examining whether these impacts are conditioned by the threshold of a human capital index. Results based on panel threshold regression revealed that the effects of human capital and governance on renewable energy supply differ substantially depending on the human capital index and governance mechanisms. Indeed, human capital exerts negative effects on renewable energy supply for countries when the human capital index is above the threshold value. High and upper middle-income countries benefit more from human capital for the renewable energy production compared to low and lower-income countries in the long-term. Our results also disclosed that the governance mechanisms relating to the voice and accountability exert positive effects on renewable energy supply regardless the human capital threshold level and also for low and lower-middle-income countries in the long term. The control of corruption is beneficial in reinforcing renewable energy supply only in the case of high upper middle-income countries. Therefore, the results of this research emphasized the importance of human capital and good governance practices as levers for the transition to the era of renewable energy and can lead to several recommendations for policy makers.

Economic diversification has been a cornerstone of the policy agenda of resource-rich countries, such as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, seeking sustainable economic development to avoid reliance on hydrocarbon revenues that cause significant vulnerabilities and economic, social, and political instability in the long term. GCC governments invest the proceeds from rich hydrocarbon exports to build a diverse local economy. However, it is unclear whether increased capital formation through public investments helps these economies diversify away from hydrocarbons. The main objective of this study was to determine whether GCC countries’ capital formation has appreciable impulse effects on response–economic diversification in the short or long term. A panel vector autoregression method describing the cause and effect or the dynamic relation between capital formation and economic diversification was used to attest to the success of economic diversification policies in resource-rich countries. The results show that a shock to real gross capital formation has a limited impact on economic diversification (the non-resource rent share) in the GCC economies. This could be attributed to these countries’ oil/gas-focused fixed investment build-up. Furthermore, an evaluation of the recursive relationship shows that the impact of growing non-hydrocarbon sectors on gross capital formation is limited.

Natural resources play a significant role in the development of the global economy. This refers, in particular, to strategic fuel and mineral resources. Due to the limited supply of natural resources and the lack of substitutes for most of the key resources in the world, the competition for the access to strategic resources is a feature of the global economy. It would seem that the countries which are rich in resources, because of this huge demand, enjoy spectacular economic prosperity. However, the results of empirical studies have demonstrated what is known as the ‘resource curse’. This article concentrates on the characteristics of the paradox of plenty, and in particular on the possibilities of preventing this phenomenon. The aim of this article is to identify the measures of economic policy with which to counteract the resource curse, based on the relationship between the state and the extraction business. Upon the critical analysis of the relevant literature, we concluded that the state’s economic policy, implemented in cooperation with the extraction business, is increasingly important for the prevention of the resource curse. In the context of the resource curse, the optimal and most consensual instrument, in comparison with other resource sharing agreements, is a production sharing agreement (PSA), which should also be adjusted to the current local economic conditions in a given country.

Countries with a large energy sector are faced with the issues of forming and developing a state energy policy that takes into account not only sectoral and intersectoral aspects, but also the components of managing significant amounts of rental income. In this regard, any of these economic systems, on the one hand, has great opportunities associated with the management of energy resources as a factor of development, on the other hand, it is constantly at risk of destabilization of the economic system as a whole. To date, the economic history allows us to speak about the accumulation of a sufficient number of observations for conducting a comprehensive study of the features of the development of public energy policies. The study is based on the formalization of historical descriptions of the experience of 24 countries (30 cases). The article describes in detail the experience of 13 of the most striking cases. This made it possible to identify 14 variables for evaluating the state energy policy, while outlining three areas (areas of attention) of public administration. The choice of variables used in the model was made on the basis of the relative frequencies of the mechanism application for the observed population, MNRW-TF recommendations within the improving extractive industry, the formation of the contribution of resource industries to the socio-economic development of the country and etc. Further cluster analysis led to the identification of both a pronounced polarity in the development of the state energy policy and options for combining its areas. JEL Classifications: C82, Q43, Q48, P51, O57, O11.

The Dutch disease literature reveals several gaps between empirical evidence and theoretical predictions. To bridge such gaps, I develop a model that accounts for uneven spillovers of technological progress from the resource sector to other domestic sectors. I then employ a dynamic panel approach to align the theory with the data. I find that the real exchange rate appreciation resulting from a resource boom (i.e., the spending channel) is more pronounced in resource-poor countries than in resource-rich countries. Additionally, the resource movement channel exhibits differences between resource-rich and resource-poor countries. In resource-rich countries, a resource boom reduces the growth rate in the manufacturing sector more than in the service sector, leading to a decrease in relative sectoral output and a slowdown in economic growth. On the other hand, in resource-poor countries, a resource boom accelerates the growth of the manufacturing sector and decelerates the growth of the service sector, resulting in an increase in relative sectoral output and economic growth.

This study examines how institutional quality (INST) affects the contribution of natural resource endowments (NREs) to citizens’ happiness and life satisfaction. It also identifies the INST threshold above which NREs enhance citizens’ life satisfaction and happiness. Consistent with challenges of low happiness levels, weak institutions, and the pervasive resource curse in Africa’s resource-rich economies, we analyse a dataset of these economies from 2012 to 2022. This study employs a robust standard-error Driscoll–Kraay nonparametric covariance matrix, dynamic common correlated effects, fully modified least squares, the method-of-moments quantile regression, and a dynamic panel threshold estimator. The findings suggest that natural resource endowment is a curse that lowers life satisfaction. Meanwhile, threshold analysis indicates that most resource-rich African countries fall short of the institutional development required to transform this curse into a blessing by encouraging the efficient allocation of resource earnings to initiatives that increase people’s happiness. Most of Africa’s resource-rich economies operate below this threshold. This study concludes that in Africa’s resource-rich countries, institutions are vital to incentivise the effective distribution of the proceeds from these resources to initiatives that enhance citizens’ happiness.