Financial Development and Green Investment: Role of Natural Resource Rent

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Associate Professor in Economics, Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar

10.22075/jem.2025.31563.1865

Abstract

Considering the unprecedented increase in environmental pollution and the growing concerns about its detrimental effects on the planet and climate change, green and environmentally friendly investments have gained significant importance. Examining the factors influencing green investments has thus become a key focus for researchers and economic policymakers. Financial development, as one of the critical factors, can play a significant role in facilitating and encouraging such investments. However, the abundance of natural resources and reliance on resource rents may not only reduce green investments but also weaken the positive impact of financial development on this domain. Accordingly, this study employs the ARDL model over the period 1989 to 2023 to investigate the role of financial development in promoting green investments and the impact of natural resource abundance (resource rents) on this relationship in Iran. The findings reveal that financial development has had a positive and significant effect on the expansion of green investments in Iran during the period under review. However, natural resource abundance, in addition to its negative effect on green investments, also undermines the positive relationship between financial development and green investments, providing further evidence of the resource curse in Iran during the study period.

Keywords


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