Advancing factors influencing resource productivity through the use of the material utility framework

In this paper, we propose 'material utility' as a new concept for analyzing the influencing factors of resource productivity (RP). We demonstrate the application of this concept by empirically analyzing direct and indirect factors influencing RP. Results indicate the following: (1) RP is essentially an aggregate of the efficiency of a material's major utility for different resource categories by weight of their respective utility coefficients. (2) The direct factors influencing RP are utility coefficient (C), intensity of utility use in economic sectors (T) and economic structure (S); whereby C, T and S respectively contribute 7%, 119%, and −26% to the decline of fossil energy intensity (the inverse of RP for fossil energy) in China during the period of 1980-2010. (3) The indirect factors influencing RP are resource quality, technology and economic structure. Specifically, RP can be increased by using higher quality resources, e.g., metal ore with higher ore grade. One unit (1%) increase in research and development (R&D) expenditure intensity and percentage of tertiary industry will result in 427 US$/ton and 40 US$/ton increase in RP, respectively. This research suggests new avenues for improving the accuracy of RP as an indicator and for policy measurement for increasing RP.