| Sustainable development is a common issue faced by human society in the new century.To achieve the goal of sustainable development,it is necessary to coordinate the relationship between economic development and ecological environmental protection.The important role of natural capital in economic development and human well-being is highly recognized in academia.The World Bank has successively released a number of national wealth reports,emphasizing that"natural capital,physical capital and human capital should be included in the national wealth accounting system to test the sustainable development of a country(region)." Majority of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)used by the United Nations to guide global development from 2015 to 2030 are closely related to natural capital.The " Two mountains theory" proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping on "Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" has systematically and profoundly revealed the dialectical and unified relationship between natural capital and economic and social development.Under its guidance,China has made remarkable progress in the construction of ecological civilization,but there is still a long way heading towards the modernization of human-nature harmonious coexistence.In this context,it’s of great significance in both thcory and policy to explore how to effectively measure natural capital and then quantify its influence on the economic development potential of various regions in China.Firstly,this paper reviews the evolution of natural resources to natural capital through literature combing,clarifies the value theory of natural capital by taking into account labor theory of value and utility theory of value,provides a theoretical basis for the value accounting of natural capital,and builds a theoretical analysis framework for evaluating economic development potential based on natural capital.Then,by referring to the current research at home and abroad,the value of various natural capital is estimated.The study strives to give consideration to both non-renewable natural capital and renewable natural capital,and pay equal attention to the estimation of natural capital stock and natural capital service flow,so as to deeply reveal the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of provincial natural capital in China.Finally,based on the estimated thematic data sets of economic value and ecological value of natural capital,empirical analysis is carried out from the following three perspectives:the impact of economic value of natural capital on economic growth and the test of resource curse,the contribution of the ecological value of natural capital to the coupling and coordination of economy and society,and the application of natural resource balance sheet integrating economic value and ecological value.It intends to quantitatively evaluate the influence of natural capital on regional economic development potential.The thesis consists of seven chapters:Chapter 1 is the general outline,which briefly explains the background and significance of the selected topic,outlines the research advancement at home and abroad,and explains the research ideas,methods,main contents and structural arrangements.Chapter 2 sets the theoretical analysis framework.Firstly,it reviews the status ofnatural capital in the theory of economic growth and sustainable development,and then sorts out the value theory and accounting theory of natural capital,and finally reveals the mechanism of natural capital affecting the potential of economic development.Chapter 3 focuses on the measurement of natural capital value.The author selects appropriate estimation methods according to the characteristics of different types of natural resources,and carefully estimates the economic value and ecological value of classified natural capital at the national and provincial levels,so as to reveal the changing trend and spatial characteristics of natural capital in China,and provide data support for empirical research in subsequent chapters.Chapter 4 is empirical analysis.Based on the estimation results of provincial natural resource rent and the economic value of natural capital in China,14 resource-dependent provinces were identified.The study reveals both the long-term and short-term relationship between non-renewable resources and economic growth by using Panel-ARDL model and PMG estimation method,and provides countermeasures and suggestions for getting rid of the resource curse.Chapter 5 focuses on the ecological value of renewable natural resources,revealing its role and contribution to the potential of economic and social development based on the coupling coordination model.Chapter 6 focuses on the definition and measurement method ofecological liabilities on the basis of the measurement of the economic value of natural capital and ecological value.It determines the compilation method and expression of the balance sheet of natural resources with value by case Shanxi Province to discuss the statistical monitoring of development potential.Chapter 7 serves to be the summary of the study.It draws conclusions,makes countermeasures and suggestions,and outlines the prospects for the future research.The research findings are as follows:First,due to different regional locations and resource endowments,the abundance of natural resources varies greatly among provinces,and their natural capital structures and dominant types are distinctive,which constitutes an important constraint on economic development potential and path selection;Second.based on the rent and economic value data ofnon-renewable resources,it is found that resource-dependent provinces have not yet broken the "resource curse",and their economic growth is too dependent on the investment of non-renewable resources,which is not conducive to the transformation of industrial structure and the sustainable improvement of development.Third,based on the ecological value data of natural capital,it is found that great divergences exist in the coupling and coordination degree of economy,society and ecology among provinces.For different types and provinces at various stages,appropriate resource utilization methods should be selected in accordance with local conditions to enhance the coordinated development potential of economy and society;Fourth,the balance sheet of natural resources can further present the "bottom line"and changes of natural resources,especially strengthen the accounting of ecological liabilities and compare it with ecological value,which can offers information support for scientific decision-making to enhance economic development potential and sustainability.Accordingly,the following countermeasures and suggestions are made:We should strengthen the protection of renewable resources,strive to improve the efficiency of resource utilization,abandon the short-sighted behavior of blindly pursuing immediate economic interests,and make efforts to realize its sustainable utilization;Resource-dependent provinces should excel in "portfolio management" of capital in national wealth,transform the rent of non-renewable natural resources into physical capital investment,human capital investment and technology research and development,and realize the "double growth mode" of coordinated development of economy,society and ecological environment;And we should take social responsibility to protect natural resources and ecological environment,initiatively guide the green production and consumption,and promote energy conservation and emission reduction to ultimately achieve the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. |
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