IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v63y2013icp55-68.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Contrasting perspectives on China's rare earths policies: Reframing the debate through a stakeholder lens

Author

Listed:
  • Hayes-Labruto, Leslie
  • Schillebeeckx, Simon J.D.
  • Workman, Mark
  • Shah, Nilay

Abstract

This article critically compares China's rare earth policy with perspectives upheld in the rest of the world (ROW). We introduce rare earth elements and their importance for energy and present how China and the ROW are framing the policy debate. We find strongly dissonant views with regards to motives for foreign direct investment, China's two-tiered pricing structure and its questionable innovation potential. Using the metaphor of “China Inc.”, we compare the Chinese government to a socially responsible corporation that aims to balance the needs of its internal stakeholders with the demands from a resource-dependent world. We find that China's internal stakeholders have more power and legitimacy in the REE debate than the ROW and reconceptualise various possible mitigation strategies that could change current international policy and market dynamics. As such, we aim to reframe the perspectives that seem to govern the West and argue in favor of policy formation that explicitly acknowledges China's triple bottom line ambitions and encourages the ROW to engage with China in a more nuanced manner.

Suggested Citation

  • Hayes-Labruto, Leslie & Schillebeeckx, Simon J.D. & Workman, Mark & Shah, Nilay, 2013. "Contrasting perspectives on China's rare earths policies: Reframing the debate through a stakeholder lens," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 55-68.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:63:y:2013:i:c:p:55-68
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.07.121
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421513007805
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.07.121?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jane Korinek & Jeonghoi Kim, 2010. "Export Restrictions on Strategic Raw Materials and Their Impact on Trade," OECD Trade Policy Papers 95, OECD Publishing.
    2. Saxenian, AnnaLee, 1991. "The origins and dynamics of production networks in Silicon Valley," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 423-437, October.
    3. Hennart, Jean-Francois, 1989. "The Transaction-Cost Rationale for Countertrade," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(1), pages 127-153, Spring.
    4. Carroll, Archie B., 1991. "The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 39-48.
    5. Diao, Xinshen & Somwaru, Agapi & Roe, Terry L., 2001. "A Global Analysis Of Agricultural Trade Reform In Wto Member Countries," Bulletins 12984, University of Minnesota, Economic Development Center.
    6. Jean-Francois Hennart, 1990. "Some Empirical Dimensions of Countertrade," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 21(2), pages 243-270, June.
    7. Rolf Mirus & Bernard Yeung, 1986. "Economic Incentives for Countertrade," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 17(3), pages 27-39, September.
    8. Kox, Henk L. M., 1991. "Integration of environmental externalities in international commodity agreements," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 19(8), pages 933-943, August.
    9. Wipo, 2011. "World Intellectual Property Indicators, 2011 edition," WIPO Economics & Statistics Series, World Intellectual Property Organization - Economics and Statistics Division, number 2011:941, June.
    10. Jussi Lankoski & Markku Ollikainen, 2003. "Agri-environmental externalities: a framework for designing targeted policies," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 30(1), pages 51-75, March.
    11. Kaufmann, Daniel & Kraay, Aart & Mastruzzi, Massimo, 2010. "The worldwide governance indicators : methodology and analytical issues," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5430, The World Bank.
    12. Orts, Eric W. & Strudler, Alan, 2002. "The Ethical and Environmental Limits of Stakeholder Theory," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(2), pages 215-233, April.
    13. Aidt, Toke S., 1998. "Political internalization of economic externalities and environmental policy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 1-16, July.
    14. Elbehri, Aziz & Leetmaa, Susan E., 2001. "How Significant Are Export Subsidies To Agricultural Trade? Trade And Welfare Implications Of Global Reforms," 2001 Annual meeting, August 5-8, Chicago, IL 20518, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    15. Chong Ju Choi & Soo Hee Lee & Jai Boem Kim, 1999. "A Note on Countertrade: Contractual Uncertainty and Transaction Governance in Emerging Economies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 30(1), pages 189-201, March.
    16. Robert Looney, 2011. "Recent Developments on the Rare Earth Front," World Economics, World Economics, 1 Ivory Square, Plantation Wharf, London, United Kingdom, SW11 3UE, vol. 12(1), pages 47-78, January.
    17. Bin GU, 2011. "Mineral Export Restraints and Sustainable Development--Are Rare Earths Testing the WTO's Loopholes?," Journal of International Economic Law, Oxford University Press, vol. 14(4), pages 765-805, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Park, Sulgiye & Tracy, Cameron L. & Ewing, Rodney C., 2023. "Reimagining US rare earth production: Domestic failures and the decline of US rare earth production dominance – Lessons learned and recommendations," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    2. Yufeng Chen & Biao Zheng, 2019. "What Happens after the Rare Earth Crisis: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-26, March.
    3. Speirs, Jamie & McGlade, Christophe & Slade, Raphael, 2015. "Uncertainty in the availability of natural resources: Fossil fuels, critical metals and biomass," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 654-664.
    4. Zuo, Zhili & Cheng, Jinhua & Guo, Haixiang & McLellan, Benjamin Craig, 2021. "Catastrophe progression method - path (CPM-PATH) early warning analysis of Chinese rare earths industry security," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Golev, Artem & Scott, Margaretha & Erskine, Peter D. & Ali, Saleem H. & Ballantyne, Grant R., 2014. "Rare earths supply chains: Current status, constraints and opportunities," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 52-59.
    6. ZHANG, Lu & GUO, Qing & ZHANG, Junbiao & HUANG, Yong & XIONG, Tao, 2015. "Did China׳s rare earth export policies work? — Empirical evidence from USA and Japan," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 82-90.
    7. Thibeault, Al & Ryder, Michael & Tomomewo, Olusegun & Mann, Michael, 2023. "A review of competitive advantage theory applied to the global rare earth industry transition," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    8. Proelss, Juliane & Schweizer, Denis & Seiler, Volker, 2020. "The economic importance of rare earth elements volatility forecasts," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    9. Rabe, Wiebke & Kostka, Genia & Smith Stegen, Karen, 2017. "China's supply of critical raw materials: Risks for Europe's solar and wind industries?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 692-699.
    10. Paulick, Holger & Machacek, Erika, 2017. "The global rare earth element exploration boom: An analysis of resources outside of China and discussion of development perspectives," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 134-153.
    11. Klossek, Polina & Kullik, Jakob & van den Boogaart, Karl Gerald, 2016. "A systemic approach to the problems of the rare earth market," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 131-140.
    12. Schmid, Marc, 2019. "Mitigating supply risks through involvement in rare earth projects: Japan's strategies and what the US can learn," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    13. Han, Aiping & Ge, Jianping & Lei, Yalin, 2015. "An adjustment in regulation policies and its effects on market supply: Game analysis for China’s rare earths," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(P2), pages 30-42.
    14. Yanjing Jia & Chao Ding & Zhiliang Dong, 2021. "Transmission Mechanism of Stock Price Fluctuation in the Rare Earth Industry Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-21, November.
    15. Schlinkert, Dominik & van den Boogaart, Karl Gerald, 2015. "The development of the market for rare earth elements: Insights from economic theory," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(P2), pages 272-280.
    16. Pothen, Frank & Fink, Kilian, 2015. "A political economy of China's export restrictions on rare earth elements," ZEW Discussion Papers 15-025, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    17. Hau, Liya & Zhu, Huiming & Yu, Yang & Yu, Dongwei, 2022. "Time-frequency coherence and quantile causality between trade policy uncertainty and rare earth prices: Evidence from China and the US," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ron Berger & Moti Zviling, 2013. "The Relationship between Stakeholder Marketing and Reciprocity in Eastern Europe: A Conceptual Analysis," International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning, International School for Social and Business Studies, Celje, Slovenia, vol. 2(2), pages 149-164.
    2. Christina Deselaers & Alina Dahmen & Sonia Lippke, 2022. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on CSR Activities of Healthcare Providers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-27, December.
    3. Marshall, John F. & Wynne, Kevin J., 1996. "Synthetic barter: Simulating countertrade solutions with swaps," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 1-12.
    4. Panwar, Rajat & Han, Xiaoou & Hansen, Eric, 2010. "A demographic examination of societal views regarding corporate social responsibility in the US forest products industry," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 121-128, February.
    5. Yves Fassin, 2012. "Stakeholder Management, Reciprocity and Stakeholder Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(1), pages 83-96, August.
    6. Y. Fassin, 2008. "The Stakeholder Model Refined," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 08/529, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    7. Jia, Jing & Li, Zhongtian, 2020. "Does external uncertainty matter in corporate sustainability performance?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    8. Carson Young, 2019. "Putting the Law in Its Place: Business Ethics and the Assumption that Illegal Implies Unethical," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 35-51, November.
    9. Ulf Richter, 2010. "Liberal Thought in Reasoning on CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(4), pages 625-649, December.
    10. Leanne Johnstone, 2018. "Environmental management decisions in CSR‐based accounting research," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(6), pages 1212-1222, November.
    11. Bell, J.H.J., 1996. "Joint or Single Venturing? : An Electric Approach to Foreign Entry Mode Choice," Other publications TiSEM 06f84735-3cf5-432f-8bc8-c, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    12. Jacek Prokop & Ewa Baranowska-Prokop, 2006. "Asymetria informacji a transakcje wiązane," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 7-8, pages 9-25.
    13. Persson, Torsten & Tabellini, Guido, 2002. "Political economics and public finance," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 24, pages 1549-1659, Elsevier.
    14. Mehmet Maksud Onal & John K. Ashton, 2021. "Is the Journey more Important than the Destination? EU Accession and Corporate Governance and Performance of Banks," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(6), pages 1516-1535, November.
    15. Sapanna Laysiriroj & Walter Wehrmeyer, 2020. "Intergenerational differences of CSR activities in family-run businesses in eastern Thailand," Asian Journal of Sustainability and Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-15, December.
    16. Kapeliushnikov, Rostislav & Kuznetsov, Andrei & Demina, Natalia & Kuznetsova, Olga, 2013. "Threats to security of property rights in a transition economy: An empirical perspective," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 245-264.
    17. Rakesh Sambharya & Martina Musteen, 2014. "Institutional environment and entrepreneurship: An empirical study across countries," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 314-330, December.
    18. Jongmoo Jay Choi & Hoje Jo & Jimi Kim & Moo Sung Kim, 2018. "Business Groups and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(4), pages 931-954, December.
    19. Kumar, Sanjesh & Singh, Baljeet, 2019. "Barriers to the international diffusion of technological innovations," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 74-86.
    20. Christoph M. Schmidt & Nils aus dem Moore, 2014. "Wie geht es uns? Die W3-Indikatoren für eine neue Wohlstandsmessung," RWI Positionen, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, pages 16, 03.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:63:y:2013:i:c:p:55-68. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.