Natural Resource and Human Capital as Capital Services and its Contribution to Sustainable Development and Productivity. A KLEMS + N (Natural Capital) Approach

ARIEL COREMBERG

Paris

Conferencia; IARIW-OECD Special Conference: ?W(h)ither the SNA??; 2015

IARIW-OECD

Commodity prices boom during the first decade of 21st century impact on NaturalResource Dependent Economies by a significant consumption and GDP growth.However, present terms of trade reversion cast several doubts on the sustainability oftheir prosperity. Domestic Savings, human capital formation, productivity andmanagement of natural resource abundance during the boom are key variables tosustain future economic growth in case of terms of trade reversion. But GrowthAccounting and Balance Sheet Vulnerability analysis does not usually include NaturalCapital contribution to growth. The economic literature in terms of Dutch Disease andResource Curse was not based on common metrics. Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi (2009) reportput issues about how to measure welfare, environmental and growth sustainability at theheart of the debate.The System of National Accounts does not take into account some environmental assetsand unproved resources and also human capital in the assets boundary that hasimportant role in welfare and growth sustainability, mainly because of difficulties onempirical measures.This paper propose a methodology to measure Natural and Human capital as wealth ascapital services inputs in a symmetric and consistent approach with produced assets(KLEMS+N, capital, labor material, service and natural inputs). Main findings for oil andgas dependent group are reported. Evidence of Resource Curse is mixed. Despite highwealth effects during commodities prices boom, genuine savings did not increase,endangering their future growth sustainability. But GDP growth of oil and gas dependentcountries accelerates during the recent commodities boom thanks of productivitydynamics, although these findings within the group were was heterogeneous. Measuredproductivity of oil and gas dependent economies was negative biased if oil and gasinputs are excluded from growth accounting.The new welfare and growth sustainable asset boundary proposed allowed inclusion ofnatural and human capital in the core of SNA responding questions of Stiglitz-SenFitoussiabout overconsumption, sustainability of development and productivity