Inherent in any type of economic or industrial development, there appears to be various contradictions in emerging economies. Such contradictions and challenges may be exacerbated by the scale of emerging economies' developmental needs, particularly in countries with large populations such as India and China. These challenges and problems may be divided into the following categories: economic/trade-related challenges; demographics-related factors and resource-use challenges.

The three categories are interrelated because demographic factors may affect the scale and magnitude of resource use and consumption while both demographics and resource use are related to economic development. Sustainable development and adequate allocation of resources, particularly for consumption and economic expansion in demographically large countries, is a potential contradiction and dilemma faced by large developing economics.

Jared Diamond's publication Collapse indicates dramatically the problems and challenges that arise when ecological and natural resources are overused and overexploited, causing societies, cities and even civilizations to collapse and fail. Two conventional approaches to resolving natural resource use and/or shortage are to refer it to state management for allocation (e.g. nationalization) or to the private sector (privatization). The basic quest in carrying out these approaches is to restrict the depletion and overuse of natural resources which include energy resources. But Elinor Ostrom argues that neither of these approaches have unmitigated success in maintaining the sustainable long-term use of natural resources.

At the heart of strategies in managing resources are also the elements of rationality and self-motivation and interest in the use of resources.