Examining the Impact of Tungsten Production on China’s Economic Growth: Evidence for the Resource Curse Hypothesis

This study investigates the potential impact of China’s dominant position in global tungsten production on its national economic growth, examining the applicability of the resource curse hypothesis. While prior research has extensively explored the resource curse in relation to oil and other resources, the role of tungsten remains largely unexplored. Utilizing annual data from 1994 to 2022, this study employs an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to analyze the long-run relationship between per capita income from tungsten production and per capita GDP. The results reveal a significant negative relationship, suggesting that the increased income from tungsten production may be associated with a decline in overall economic output, supporting the resource curse hypothesis. The study contributes to the growing body of the literature on the resource curse by investigating the unique case of tungsten and highlighting the importance of sustainable resource management, diversification, and effective governance in maximizing economic benefits while mitigating potential downsides.