How natural resources play an important role in economic growth?
Answers
The term economic development refers to the kind of advancement made by a particular economy, both qualitatively as well as quantitatively, in a given period of time. Economic growth in terms of rise in market productivity as well as in the overall GDP is an important aspect of economic development, alongside many others. But, the ultimate aim of development of any economy across the world is to ensure the economic and social well-being of the people. There are numerous players determining the economic development of a country or region, the most important of which, alongside the physical capital, is its human capital, or in simple terms, the manpower resources. Apart from these two, economists from across the globe have acknowledged the vital role that is played in the economic development by, what they term as the natural capital, or what we, in simple terms, may refer to as natural resources.
What Are Natural Resources?
Natural resources are those material and substances, which occur naturally in the environment. They are those resources that are readily and naturally available on our planet, and can be used in their natural, undisturbed form. Some of the common examples of natural resources include land, water, coal, wood, sunlight, and oil.
All these resources are distributed randomly across our planet, owing to which, every place has a set of its own natural resources, which aid in its economic development. Because these resources are randomly distributed, they are available in abundance in some places, whereas they are found in scarcity in some others. It is, therefore, important that people make proper and sustainable use of their natural resources so that they can also be preserved, to some extent, for posterity. Natural resources have been essentially classified into two types:
The non-renewable resources are those natural resources, which can be used only once. They are exhaustible resources, which tend to diminish in quantity, owing to their constant usage. It is, hence, important to use the non-renewable resources wisely so that we do not run out of them. Non-renewable resources include coal, natural gas, petroleum, uranium, etc