The Relationship between Natural Resource Utilization Efficiency and Urbanization in China
中国自然资源利用效率与城市化关系的实证分析

The construction of a resource-saving and environment-friendly society is crucial to the sustainable development of China. However, with accelerated urbanization, construction, pollution and environmental deterioration, biodiversity decreases and this influences the stability and coordinated development of the city eco-environment. Here, we analyze the effect of urbanization on inter-provincial natural resource utilization using data from 2002 to 2009. Our modeling shows that urbanization does not have a significant influence on natural resource utilization efficiency and that urbanization has both positive and negative effects. Urbanization not only improved labor productivity but also promoted the readjustment of industrial structure. By dividing China into East, Middle and West zones, we found that government behavior is the uppermost unfavorable factor, the effects of which are higher than in the eastern region. Material capital investment negatively influences the east and central regions while opening up promotes natural resource utilization efficiency in western China. China requires to further improve human capital investment. For western China, it is very important to strengthen foreign trade and investment. China must improve labor productivity with technological innovation leading to benign development that saves resources and protects the environment. Central and western China should improve industrial restructuring to buck the trend towards heavy industry. The Chinese government must redefine its role in the urban development process, and present clear property rights and price forming mechanisms, strengthen budget constraints and resource equilibrium allocation, and establish a scientific decision-making mechanism to improve natural resource utilization efficiency.