IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i15p6451-d1444576.html

New Interpretation of Human–Land Relations: Evidence from the Impact of Population Aging on Resource Utilization Efficiency in the Yellow River Basin

Author

Listed:
  • Ping Wang

    (College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250358, China)

  • Zhibao Wang

    (College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250358, China)

Abstract

In the current context of global resource constraints and sustainable development, the efficient utilization of resources in the Yellow River basin, as one of China’s main economic regions, is particularly important. Based on the Super-SBM model with undesirable outputs, we analyze the spatial–temporal evolution of resource utilization efficiency in the Yellow River basin during 2000–2020 and investigate the impact of population aging on it using a fixed effects regression model and spatial Durbin model. The resource utilization efficiency has shown an overall upward trend in the Yellow River basin, which never realizes the DEA efficiency. There remains considerable room for efficiency improvement. There is an obvious spatial heterogeneity in resource utilization efficiency, presenting a spatial pattern of “leading downstream, intermediate midstream and lagging upstream”. Resource utilization efficiency has a high redundancy rate in terms of environmental pollution output, water resource input, science and education input in the Yellow River basin. Currently, excessive resource consumption and excessive pollutant emissions are the main causes of efficiency loss. Population aging not only promotes regional resource utilization efficiency but also has a significant positive spatial spillover effect in neighboring regions. Population aging’s impact shows heterogeneity, with a significant promoting impact on resource-based cities and other cities, while its promoting impact on provincial capital cities is not significant.

Suggested Citation

  • Ping Wang & Zhibao Wang, 2024. "New Interpretation of Human–Land Relations: Evidence from the Impact of Population Aging on Resource Utilization Efficiency in the Yellow River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-16, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6451-:d:1444576
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6451/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6451/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pu, Wenfang & Zhang, Anlu & Wen, Lanjiao, 2021. "Can China’s resource-saving and environmentally friendly society really improve the efficiency of industrial land use?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 10(7).
    2. De Haas, Ralph & Poelhekke, Steven, 2019. "Mining matters: Natural resource extraction and firm-level constraints," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 109-124.
    3. ., 2023. "Promoting economic growth and rising living standards," Chapters, in: Western Welfare Capitalisms in Good Times and Bad, chapter 9, pages 112-117, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Wenqun Gao & Yang Chen & Shaorui Xu & Oleksii Lyulyov & Tetyana Pimonenko, 2023. "The Role of Population Aging in High-Quality Economic Development: Mediating Role of Technological Innovation," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, October.
    5. Lu, Xun & White, Halbert, 2014. "Robustness checks and robustness tests in applied economics," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 178(P1), pages 194-206.
    6. Wenfang Pu & Anlu Zhang & Lanjiao Wen, 2021. "Can China’s Resource-Saving and Environmentally Friendly Society Really Improve the Efficiency of Industrial Land Use?," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-19, July.
    7. Garau, Giorgio & Lecca, Patrizio & Mandras, Giovanni, 2013. "The impact of population ageing on energy use: Evidence from Italy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 970-980.
    8. Yanzhe Zhang & Bowen Zou & Huai Zhang & Jian Zhang, 2022. "Empirical Research on Male Preference in China: A Result of Gender Imbalance in the Seventh Population Census," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-17, May.
    9. Wang, Zhibao & Wei, Lijie & Zhang, Xiaoping & Qi, Guangzhi, 2023. "Impact of demographic age structure on energy consumption structure: Evidence from population aging in mainland China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 273(C).
    10. John Cleland, 2013. "World Population Growth; Past, Present and Future," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 55(4), pages 543-554, August.
    11. Song, Yi & Huang, Jianbai & Zhang, Yijun & Wang, Zhiping, 2019. "Drivers of metal consumption in China: An input-output structural decomposition analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    12. Hunt Allcott & Daniel Keniston, 2018. "Dutch Disease or Agglomeration? The Local Economic Effects of Natural Resource Booms in Modern America," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 85(2), pages 695-731.
    13. Wei, Wendong & Cai, Wenqiu & Guo, Yi & Bai, Caiquan & Yang, Luzhen, 2020. "Decoupling relationship between energy consumption and economic growth in China's provinces from the perspective of resource security," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    14. Nicole Maestas & Kathleen J. Mullen & David Powell, 2023. "The Effect of Population Aging on Economic Growth, the Labor Force, and Productivity," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 306-332, April.
    15. Miao, Chenglin & Fang, Debin & Sun, Liyan & Luo, Qiaoling, 2017. "Natural resources utilization efficiency under the influence of green technological innovation," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 153-161.
    16. Christoph Wigger, 2022. "Who with whom? Untangling the effect of high-skilled immigration on innovation [Shift-share designs: theory and inference]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(2), pages 449-476.
    17. Papyrakis, Elissaios & Gerlagh, Reyer, 2004. "The resource curse hypothesis and its transmission channels," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 181-193, March.
    18. Zhao, Jing & Zhao, Ziru & Zhang, Huan, 2021. "The impact of growth, energy and financial development on environmental pollution in China: New evidence from a spatial econometric analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    19. Tone, Kaoru, 2001. "A slacks-based measure of efficiency in data envelopment analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(3), pages 498-509, May.
    20. Sachs, Jeffrey D. & Warner, Andrew M., 2001. "The curse of natural resources," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(4-6), pages 827-838, May.
    21. Etienne Gagnon & Benjamin K. Johannsen & David López-Salido, 2021. "Understanding the New Normal: The Role of Demographics," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 69(2), pages 357-390, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Zuo, Na & Zhong, Hua, 2020. "Can resource policy reverse the resource curse? Evidence from China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. Pelzl, Paul & Poelhekke, Steven, 2021. "Good mine, bad mine: Natural resource heterogeneity and Dutch disease in Indonesia," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    3. Gao, Zhiyuan & Zhao, Ying & Li, Lianqing & Hao, Yu, 2024. "Echoes of dependency: The impact of resource reliance on green industry transformation in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    4. Zuo, Na & Zhong, Hua, "undated". "The Effect of Resource Wealth on Regional Economic Development in China," 2019 Annual Meeting, July 21-23, Atlanta, Georgia 291114, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Karolina Józefowicz, 2025. "Population Aging and Economic Competitiveness in Polish Small Towns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-18, May.
    6. Guo, Pengwei & He, Yongda & Scrimgeour, Frank & Shao, Shuai & Yu, Yuting, 2024. "The impact of natural resource dependency on green economic growth: A business environment perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    7. Vasilyeva, Olga & Libman, Alexander, 2020. "Varieties of authoritarianism matter: Elite fragmentation, natural resources and economic growth," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    8. Shao, Shuai & Zhang, Yan & Tian, Zhihua & Li, Ding & Yang, Lili, 2020. "The regional Dutch disease effect within China: A spatial econometric investigation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    9. Ozcan, Burcu & Temiz, Mehmet & Gültekin Tarla, Esma, 2023. "The resource curse phenomenon in the case of precious metals: A panel evidence from top 19 exporting countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    10. Chen, Fu & Tiwari, Sunil & Mohammed, Kamel Si & Huo, Weidong & Jamróz, Paweł, 2023. "Minerals resource rent responses to economic performance, greener energy, and environmental policy in China: Combination of ML and ANN outputs," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    11. Jessica Suárez Campoli & Tatiana Kimura Kodama & Marcelo Seido Nagano & Heloisa Lee Burnquist, 2025. "Progress of G20 Nations on the 6th Sustainable Development Goal Under the Circular Economy Perspective," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(5), pages 16966-16995, November.
    12. repec:osf:osfxxx:s8ayp_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Zheng, Huazhu & Lu, Jungang & He, Hongming & Wu, Yongjiao & He, Maofeng & Cheng, Dong & Yao, Zhengyu & Gomez, Christopher, 2025. "Quantifying spatial heterogeneity and driving mechanisms of water-energy-food coordination in the Yellow River Basin: A hybrid framework approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    14. Satti, Saqlain Latif & Farooq, Abdul & Loganathan, Nanthakumar & Shahbaz, Muhammad, 2014. "Empirical evidence on the resource curse hypothesis in oil abundant economy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 421-429.
    15. Mingkai Liu & Changxin Liu & Xiaodong Pei & Shouting Zhang & Xun Ge & Hongyan Zhang & Yang Li, 2021. "Sustainable Risk Assessment of Resource Industry at Provincial Level in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, April.
    16. Ohad Raveh, 2013. "Dutch Disease, factor mobility, and the Alberta Effect: the case of federations," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(4), pages 1317-1350, November.
    17. Shang, Hua & Jiang, Li & Pan, Xianyou & Pan, Xiongfeng, 2022. "Green technology innovation spillover effect and urban eco-efficiency convergence: Evidence from Chinese cities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    18. Jean Pierre Namahoro & Wu Qiaosheng & Deyun Wang, 2025. "Mineral rents, renewable energy, and real growth nexus: evidence from top-rich countries in minerals across East-Central African regions," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 38(2), pages 359-375, June.
    19. Mathilde Esposito, 2024. "Workforce Aging and Potential Output Growth," Working Papers hal-04747557, HAL.
    20. Bai Yu & Li Yanjun, 2025. "Golden opportunities: Firm-level evidence on the economic impacts of mining operations," TUPD Discussion Papers 73, Graduate School of Economics and Management, Tohoku University.
    21. Ekundayo Mesagan & Juliet Adenuga, 2020. "Effects of Oil Resource Endowment, Natural Gas and Agriculture Output: Policy Options for Inclusive Growth," BizEcons Quarterly, Strides Educational Foundation, vol. 8, pages 15-34.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6451-:d:1444576. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.