作为一种投入要素，自然资源是社会经济发展的物质基础和基本条件；是一切劳动资料和劳动对象的第一源泉；是生产和再生产的前提。资源禀赋的优劣并不必然决定区域经济发展绩效的好坏，但无疑会影响区域经济发展进程和水平。资源禀赋条件好的区域，其经济发展绩效未必理想，甚至可能会沦为落后区域，形成“富饶的贫困”。自然资源禀赋条件相对好的西部地区，其经济发展长期以来处于落后状态。进入新世纪以来，在西部大开发战略的推动下，西部地区经济发展有所加速，但与东部沿海地区相比，发展差距并未缩小。究其原因，固然与其初始条件、区位环境和国家主导下的非均衡发展战略相关，但资源型经济痼疾本身恐怕也难辞其咎。自然资源禀赋在西部以往经济发展中究竟发挥了何种作用？在其未来发展中可能的地位作用如何？怎样才能使西部地区跳出“资源优势陷阱”，走上良性可持续发展之路？为此，本文以西部地区资源禀赋与经济发展关系的研究为切入点，将西部地区资源型经济转型发展作为研究对象，论证资源型经济转型发展的必要性和可行性。本文的主要研究方法是：1．科学抽象法：为了揭示西部地区自然资源禀赋与经济发展的规律，将西部地区及其发展要素进行概念化处理，侧重探讨西部地区自然资源禀赋与经济转型发展的关系。2．历史分析法：对西部地区资源型经济发展进行划阶段分析，讨论自然资源禀赋在不同阶段的地位和作用。3．比较分析法：通过区域横向比较，揭示西部地区资源型经济转型发展的独特性。4．计量分析法：通过建立计量模型，试图说明自然资源禀赋在西部地区不同发展阶段的地位和作用，实证西部地区资源型经济转型发展的必要性与可行性。

Natural resources, as a kind of input, are material foundation and basic condition for economic development, first source for all labor materials and labor objects and precondition for production and reproduction. It’s in vain to talk about any economic development without support from natural resources. Different natural resources endowment leads to different regional economic development processes and levels. Rich natural resources endowment, within a certain period of time, will bring about tremendous push to economic development. However, regions with good resources condition have turned out not necessarily be the most ideal regions which are expected to have good economic development performance, even exactly on the contrary, they might fall down to backward regions, so called “rich poverty” formed out of “resource curse” effect. In China, this is well manifested by the development difference between western parts with rich natural resources and littoral with relatively poor natural resources. Western parts of China, with comparatively rich natural resources endowment condition, its economic development have level long been in a backward position in the Chinese regional economic development structure. What factors have caused western parts’ economic development into backwardness for such a long time? In order to narrow economic development gaps among different regions and put forward regional balanced development, the government, according to “Two General Situation” strategic conception, carries out Development of the West Regions strategy timely, offering huge support to the western parts in policies, institutions, investments for socio-economic development. Otherwise, even compared with their own past, the western regions have had faster development speed, but compared with developed regions, the development difference has not been reduced. The reasons why the western regions have rich natural resources but their economic development lag behind are admittedly relevant to their initial conditions, geographical environment and Non-Balance Development Strategy led by the government, while resource-based economy itself isn’t exempted from being blamed. What role has the endowment of natural resources played in the economic development of the western regions? How to enable the western regions’ economic development to break away “Resources Advantage Trap” and step on the economic upturn path and to reduce the difference with developed regions?Oriented by the above consideration, this article, focusing its research target on the relationship between natural resources endowment and economic sustainable development and its development discipline, proposes the “view of Economic Development Phrase of the Western Regions” based on combing relevant theoretical references. Further, it analyzes the different positions and roles of natural resources endowment in different economic development stage of the western regions and accordingly it puts forward the core concept of “transformation of the western regions’ economic development pattern” and discusses the necessity and feasibility of development pattern transformation of resource-dependent economy.In this article, the author mainly employs the following studying methods:1. Scientific abstraction. In order to explore the rules of the natural resources endowment of the west regions and their economic sustainable development, western regions and their development elements have to be conceptualized and the relationship between the natural resources endowment and sustainable development has to be discussed. 2. Historical analysis. According to the Phrase theory of National Economic Development, the economic development process is classified into different stages. Furthermore, positions and roles of natural resources endowment in different stages are to be examined. 3. Comparative analysis. Comparison with similar regional economic development in developed countries is made, as well as with non-western regional economic development in home, aiming at revealing the uniqueness of China’s western regions’ economic development by these horizontal contrasts. 4. Quantitative analysis. Trying to explicitly explore the positions and roles of natural resources endowment in different development stages of the western regions, the author builds up quantitative models to explain the necessity and feasibility of the western regions’ economic development transformation in the empirical way.