The Influence of R&D in Mining on Sustainable Development in China

Mining and the utilization of mineral resources, especially coal for energy consumption, are considered a major contributor to China's total index of environmental pollution, but there is less focus on its sustainable development. This study focused on the influence of research and development (R&D) on the sustainable development capabilities of 45 coal mining cities in China from 2008 to 2017. These cities were grouped into growing, maturity, declining, and regeneration categories. A DEAP model together with the Malmquist productivity index were used in calculating their sustainable development capabilities. It emerged that the R&D inclination for the coal mining cities was low at an average of 0.3406 and its influence has not pushed enough to reach the production frontier. The overall sustainable development capabilities of the four categories of coal mining cities were 0.6918 and also proved to have an unstable trend. There was evidence of inefficiencies in some categories of resource input and output. Technological changes (TECHCH) that promote the sustainable development capabilities grew at 12.2% for the period, which is moderately significant but still needs improvement. Major factors hindering the sustainable development of coal mining cities were insufficient desired input indicators including decisional capabilities, recovery in the treatment of pollution, and effective utilization of resources.