Exploring new drivers of mineral resource rents in BRICS countries: The role of digital governance and political stability

The entire world has been trying to expedite the transition to digital governance since it escalates the efficiency of an economy. However, the impacts of digital governance on natural resources are not well-explored. Given this background, this study intends to probe the dynamic effect of digital governance and political stability on mineral resource rents. Further, the study also explores the combined impact of digital governance and political stability on mineral rent. To accomplish this, we use a panel dataset on BRICS countries covering the period of 2007–2022. We adopt several econometric methods to provide robust results. The results from the panel ARDL highlight that both digital governance and political stability escalate mineral resource rents in the long run. Contrarily, political stability does not impact mineral resource rents, while digital governance impedes it in the short run. Further, the combined impact of political stability and digital governance on minerals rent is positive and negative in the long and short run, respectively. Given these findings, we propose some pertinent policy recommendations for natural resource management.