Natural Resources, Local Governance, and Social Instability: A Comparison of Two Counties in China

Abstract

This article compares two neighboring underdeveloped counties in southwest China that share many similarities in economic, political and demographic structures but experience divergent levels of social instability. The comparison suggests that, under China’s political system and cadre incentive structure, the endowment of mineral resources in one county and the lack thereof in the other significantly influence the modes of economic development and local governance in these two counties, which consequently contribute to their different levels of social instability.

Keywords: China, collective incidents, curse of natural resources, economic development, political institutions, popular grievance