On the asymmetric relationship between stock market development,energy efficiency and environmental quality: A nonlinear analysis

It has been widely documented in the literature that financial development drives up the impact of CO₂ emissions through increases in real economic activities and the consumption of polluting fossil fuel energy. However, when dealing with stock market development, such upward effects on economic growth, energy efficiency, and carbon emissions seems to give away to a positive impact especially in emerging markets. This paper contributes to this debate by exploring both the symmetric and asymmetric responses of CO₂ emission to changes in stock market development indicators. Using both the panel linear and nonlinear ARDL, our results demonstrate the asymmetric effects of stock market development indicator son carbon emissions in the context of emerging markets. In particular, the long-run elasticities results suggest that positive and negative shocks on stock market indicator decreases environmental quality by increasing carbon emissions. Based on these empirical findings, this study offers some crucial policy implications. Especially, policy makers should implement strong environmental policies in emerging markets economies to reduce carbon emissions of industrial companies without significantly affecting the development of financial markets.     

On the nonlinear relationship between energy use and CO2 emissions within an EKC framework: Evidence from panel smooth transition regression in the MENA region

This paper proposes a new approach for analyzing the dynamic relationships between carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, energy use, and income for the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. Our study implements a class of regime-switching models, namely a nonlinear panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) framework. Two kinds of estimates for carbon emissions are provided. On the one hand, we measure the impact of energy consumption on CO₂ concerning the level of income per capita, as countries with a similar energy usage level would have different levels of energy intensity. On the other hand, we estimate the impact of output growth on emissions concerning energy usage variation, as a higher economic growth does not necessarily mean energy-intensive activities. Our empirical findings support these intuitions as they indicate that pollutant emissions respond nonlinearly to energy consumption and GDP growth. We find an inverted U-shaped pattern for the impact of energy on CO₂, in the sense that environmental degradation is declining beyond a given income threshold, which is estimated endogenously within the PSTR model. Also, our results underscore that GDP growth significantly impacts carbon emissions only for higher energy consumption growth.     

经济增长、能源转型与CO2排放的长期均衡——基于省级面板数据的实证分析

采用线性面板计量方法,依据2000~2014年中国30个省区CO2排放因子数据,考量经济增长、能源转型与CO2排放的长期均衡关系.结果表明:工业经济部门能源消费是导致CO2排放增加的重要因素;能源强度与CO2排放之间存在显著相关性与长期均衡性,能源强度降低1%,CO2排放量将减少0.22%;可再生能源替代化石能源对CO2排放具有长期抑制作用,可再生能源占比每增加1%,CO2排放量将减少0.48%.鉴此,应转变经济增长方式,实现能源转型战略,包括提高能源效率、可再生能源替代等政策建议.     

资本市场融资、经济增长与产业结构升级——基于中国省际面板数据的检验

本文利用扩展柯布-道格拉斯生产函数,分析我国金融深化的背景下,利用多层次资本市场的不同渠道资本融资、经济增长以及产业结构升级之间的动态关系。文章利用29个省、市、自治区2006~2010年的面板数据,实证结果发现:多层次资本市场融资对经济增长具有显著的促进效应,但债券市场与FDI对经济增长的作用较弱。总量促进经济增长的背后,不同的融资渠道之间的相互作用不尽相同:银行信贷与债券对股票市场筹资存在显著的"溢出效应",FDI对股票市场筹资存在显著的"挤出效应",说明股票市场融资可以替代FDI在实体经济中的作用。随后对多层次资本市场与产业结构转型关系的数据进行实证。研究发现:股票融资、债券融资在一定程度上推动了中国的经济结构转型,但FDI与结构转型负相关,银行信贷与经济转型的关系不显著。     

中外股票市场收益率相关性分析及其影响路径分解

本文通过计算相关系数,研究了过去15年中国股票市场与国际股票市场收益率的相关性,发现在金融危机爆发的年份里,中外股票市场的收益率存在负相关关系。本文在此基础上利用面板数据回归模型,研究了影响中外股票市场收益率相关性的主要因素,发现出口路径会显著增强收益率的正相关性,对经济危机起到传导作用;外商直接投资路径会显著增强收益率的负相关性,对经济危机起到缓冲作用。建议政府在制定应对金融危机的政策时,积极利用外商直接投资的缓冲作用,同时不断引导出口企业增强国际竞争力,努力扩大内需,减少经出口路径传导至我国的外部冲击。     

Carbon Price in China: A CO2 Abatement Cost of Wind Power Perspective

As a result of rapid development of industrialization and urbanization, energy (especially fossil fuels) demand growth is increasing. Hence, China is facing the huge pressure of environmental protection and CO₂ emission reduction. The feed-in tariff (FIT) policy that promotes more wind power to substitute for thermal power and a well-functioning carbon price mechanism can significantly affect CO₂ abatement, and both can work in coordination to achieve emission reduction. Using panel model, we prove that FIT policy is more effective than other policies in promoting more wind power. Also the slowdown of economic growth, energy substitution, technological progress, and CO₂ mitigation requirement can stimulate the expansion of wind power. Additionally, based on the calculation of real abatement cost of wind power, we obtain the provincial and national average of carbon prices (239 CNY/ton and 242 CNY/ton). Specifically, 233-251 CNY/ton will be the range for reasonable carbon price in the future. We find that the carbon prices in this article are higher than those of the emissions trading scheme pilots in 2014 and 2015, due to the relatively high proportion of free allowance. Based on the above conclusions, we proposed some policy suggestions.     

Green property finance and CO2 emissions in the building industry

Contributing about 40% of the world's annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the building industry is tasked with reducing its energy consumption and its carbon footprint in accordance with the Paris Agreement. This study investigates the relationship between green property finance and the building industry's CO₂ emissions across 98 high-income and developing economies for the period 2012–2018. Our results show that although green property finance expansions are significantly and negatively related to the industry's CO₂ emissions in the full sample, this result is more evident for developing nations. This is a significant outcome for these countries since many of them are experiencing rapid but unchecked population growth and strong oil consumption. Policies to maintain this development during the COVID-19 pandemic are crucial because this crisis has curtailed the availability of green finance facilities, which has either slowed down or reversed any progress made.     

Why Did FDI Inflows of Pakistan Decline? From the Perspective of Terrorism,Energy Shortage,Financial Instability,and Political Instability

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows are important for economic development in all countries, especially developing ones. In many developing countries, FDI inflows have increased over the past two decades. However, in Pakistan FDI inflows declined over the past decade. This study examines the reasons for declining FDI inflows to Pakistan, considering the main issues, such as terrorism, energy shortages, financial instability, and political instability, with some macroeconomic indicators as control variables. These analyses are based on pre- and post-global financial crisis events, and we check the robustness by controlling for the global financial crisis. Our analyses are conducted using an autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) for co-integration among variables. The results show that energy shortages, financial instability, and political instability have adverse effects, and terrorism has insignificant effects on FDI inflows to Pakistan before the financial crisis in the long term. However, the post-financial crisis period indicates that terrorism and energy shortages are the main drivers of decline in FDI inflows to Pakistan. Market size, inflation, and exchange rates affect FDI inflows positively. The global financial crisis has an adverse impact on FDI inflows to Pakistan. This study is helpful for the Pakistani government as it attempts to design useful policies for attracting FDI.     

Impact of the stock market capitalization and the banking spread in growth and development in Latin American: A panel data estimation with System GMM

This research is aimed at assessing the impact of the stock market capitalization and the banking spread in per capita economic growth (as a proxy of economic development) in the major Latin American economies during period 1994–2012. To do this, a panel data model is estimated with both system and difference Generalized Method of Moments. The main empirical findings are that economic growth in the countries under study is positively impacted by the stock market capitalization and negatively by the banking spread. Typical problems of multicollinearity and autocorrelation appearing in panel data analysis are corrected under the proposed methodology.     

Profitability Life Cycle of Foreign Direct Investment: Application to the Czech Republic

The decisions of foreign direct investors are profit-seeking, so deterioration in the primary income balance of the current account is observed. We estimate the common profitability profile of foreign direct investment (FDI) on a panel of mostly European countries in the period from 1990 to 2015. The FDI profitability life cycle has a non-linear time profile with duration of 16 years. Maximum profitability is reached in the sixth year after the initial investment. We then construct three scenarios for the evolution of total FDI earnings in the Czech Republic depending on the future FDI inflows (changing FDI stock) assumed.     

Do Capital Flows Matter to Stock and House Prices? Evidence from China

This article analyzes the impacts of foreign direct investment (FDI) and short-term capital flows, otherwise known as hot money, on stock and house prices in China. Empirical results, estimated using the local projections approach, reveal that a positive hot money net inflow shock significantly increases stock and house prices and the impacts persist for up to 1–2 months, while a positive FDI net inflow shock contributes significantly to lagged house price appreciation but has no effect on stock prices. This study also identifies negative pass-through effects of FDI net inflows on hot money net inflows and positive pass-through effects of stock prices on house prices.     

Can enhancing financial inclusivity lower climate risks by inhibiting carbon emissions? Contextual evidence from emerging economies

Climate change is regarded as a global concern whereby lowering climate risks, especially by curbing greenhouse gas emissions, has become a critically important policy agenda worldwide. Hence, this study assesses whether financial inclusion, alongside energy efficiency improvement, renewable energy use, economic growth, international trade, and urbanization, can mitigate carbon dioxide emissions in 22 emerging economies. Considering the period of analysis from 2008 to 2018 and utilizing econometric methods robust to handling cross-sectionally-dependent, heterogeneous, and endogenous panel data, the findings reveal that financial inclusion is directly associated with higher discharges of carbon dioxide. Contrarily, energy efficiency improvement and higher share of renewable energy in the aggregate energy consumption level inhibit carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, energy efficiency gains moderate the financial inclusion-emissions nexus by jointly reducing carbon emissions with greater financial inclusivity. Finally, the results indicate that economic growth, international trade, and urbanization trigger climate risks by boosting the emission figures. In light of these findings, several carbon dioxide-mitigating policies are recommended for neutralizing climate risks in emerging countries of concern.     

Economic Globalization and Financial Development in East Asia: A Panel Cointegration and Causality Analysis

This study examines the role of economic globalization in financial development in eight East Asian economies. The heterogeneous panel cointegration test reveals that cointegration is present among economic globalization, institutions, financial development, real gross domestic product per capita, and financial reforms. The Granger causality test results indicate that economic globalization has a significant causal influence on institutional quality, and institutional reforms have in turn facilitated and supported financial development, in particular of the banking sector in East Asia. Economic globalization is also found to have a favorable causal impact on stock market development without going through the institutional quality channel.     

金融发展促进中国技术创新的空间面板计量分析

本文运用空间面板计量方法研究了金融发展与中国技术创新之间的关系,实证研究结果表明：中国技术创新具有明显的空间相关性。非国有部门贷款／GDP对技术创新具有显著的正向影响;股票市场对技术创新的正向促进作用不明显;保险市场对技术创新具有较大的推动作用;科研经费投入和人力资本水平均是推动技术创新的主要因素;但是,FDI对我国技术创新具有显著的负向作用。     

The evolution of emissions trading in the European Union – The role of policy networks,knowledge and policy entrepreneurs

This paper starts with a recapitulation of how emissions trading became a cornerstone of the European Union’s climate policy. While a whole bouquet of reasons can be identified the major reasons why the EU Commission decided to pursue the establishment of an emissions trading scheme within the EU are: (1) the integration of international emissions trading into the Kyoto Protocol; (2) the failure of the 6th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the withdrawal of the United States from the Kyoto Protocol negotiations; and (3) the unsuccessful attempt to introduce an EU-wide CO₂-tax. Other reasons were the fact that emissions trading did not need unanimity in the European Council like the CO₂-tax; the economic efficiency of emissions trading which appealed not only to the Commission but also to industry and Member States; the danger of a fragmented carbon market as the United Kingdom and Denmark had already set up domestic emissions trading schemes that were incompatible; the incentive a European emissions trading scheme would be for the formation of a global carbon market; and the possibility to influence investment strategies of power companies towards a sustainable modernisation of the EU’s power generation infrastructure.Drawing upon these preconditions, this paper analyses the development of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). Based on the fact that the EU is embedded in a multi-level policy-making architecture which encourages the emergence of policy networks it is argued that the EU ETS has been shaped by an (informal) issue-specific policy network established by some staff members from DG Environment, including individuals knowledgeable on emissions trading – such as experts from consultancies, environmental NGOs and the business sector. It is argued that within this European policy network on emissions trading the European Emissions Trading Directive – as adopted on 13 October 2003 – has been negotiated and developed. It is concluded that the sharing of knowledge about this relatively new and largely unknown regulatory instrument and about design options for a potential European emissions trading scheme was the key momentum for the establishment and continuity of this policy network and that the ability of managing knowledge generation processes was the main factor to allow for a few staff members from DG Environment to play a dominant role as policy entrepreneurs in developing the European Emissions Trading Directive, even beyond their formal role of proposing the scheme as representatives from the EU Commission.     

Green finance and investment behavior of renewable energy enterprises: A case study of China

This study examines how the green finance facilitates the investment behavior of renewable energy enterprises. Considering the economic development level and financing constraints faced by the enterprises, a dynamic panel threshold model is applied using China as our experimental setting. The research finds that the development of green finance can improve the investment level of renewable energy enterprises. High-quality economic development can play a similar role as green finance in promoting investment in renewable energy enterprises. However, the promoting effect of green finance will be weakened or even offset by the excessive financing constraints of enterprises. The results advance our understanding of the mechanism of green finance on the investment behavior of renewable energy enterprises, and suggesting that maintaining high-quality economic development and alleviating the financing difficulties of enterprises will be more conducive to play the role of green finance in supporting the investment of renewable energy enterprises.     

Toward a sustainable energy future in Australia

Envisioning Australia's energy future through a ‘strong sustainability’ framework would see a future that is based on the efficient and equitable use of energy, sourced from a diverse range of renewable, distributed energy systems. Supply and use of this energy would produce low or zero greenhouse gases and other emissions. A sustainable energy future in Australia would also see a shift in focus to meeting energy service needs (rather increased energy consumption). Importantly, energy users would be empowered, being knowledgeable and active participants in energy markets. In reality, Australia currently stands a long way from this vision: energy-related greenhouse gas emissions are growing rapidly; take up of renewable energy is slow, particularly of distributed energy forms such as solar photovoltaics; and energy intensity of the economy is declining at a slower rate than many other OECD economies. Furthermore, Australians consume far more energy than is required to meet the service needs of even modern lifestyles. If Australia is to move towards a sustainable energy future, then significant barriers must be overcome including aspects of Australia's economic structure, a misdirected energy market reform process and a lack of visionary thinking by decision makers. Hope comes in the form of the broader Australian community who intuitively support a sustainable energy vision but currently lack the institutional, market and regulatory support to make it happen.     

Financial Development and Economic Growth: Do Outliers Matter?

This study examines the effect of outliers on causal relationship between financial development and economic growth using 48 countries from 1988 to 2014. The dynamic panel model of Levine, Loayza, and Beck (2000) is used to examine this issue. We propose a novel approach by combining the least square dummy variable correction method (LSDVC) to remove the estimates bias in the dynamic panel model and the least trimmed squares (LTS) to control outlier influence. The combination of these two methods is referred to as LSDVC + LTS. Our results show a counter-intuitive evidence that bank development negatively affects economic growth when the outlier influence is ignored. This counter-intuitive evidence holds even when the conventional winsorization method is used to control the outliers. However, bank development exhibits a positive influence on economic growth once the proposed approach LSDVC + LTS is adopted. Also, stock market development exhibits a positive effect on economic growth regardless of the outliers.     

Market development and market efficiency: evidence based on nonlinear panel unit root tests

This study tests the weak form market efficiency of 32 European stock markets. Utilizing monthly data from June 2006 to June 2017, six different, newly developed nonlinear panel root tests were applied in three different groups of European markets: Frontier, Emerging and Developed. The results show that there is a meaningful relationship between different levels of economic development and the weak form market efficiency. Considering the nonlinear structure of the stock market indices, use of linear models might lead to wrong conclusions regarding market efficiency. Using several nonlinear panel root tests, the results of this study shed more light on the true data generating process of the stock market indices and more appropriately model market efficiency.     

Does the connectedness among fossil energy returns matter for renewable energy stock returns? Fresh insights from the Cross-Quantilogram analysis

The response of renewable energy stock returns to the dynamics of fossil energy markets is a vital concern of low-carbon transitions. There is still sparse literature documenting the directional dependence of renewable energy stock returns on the connectedness among fossil energy returns, even though previous studies have examined the relationship among renewable energy stocks and fossil energy markets. Additionally, the conclusions of prior studies are quite far from reaching a consensus regarding the relationship between the renewable energy stock and the fossil energy markets. To this end, by using the TVP-VAR based connectedness approach and Cross-Quantilogram techniques, this study does the first attempt to unpack the complicated and controversial directional dependence of renewable energy stock returns on the returns and connectedness of fossil energy markets, considering various market conditions and time horizons. The empirical analysis demonstrates that, first, the directional dependence of renewable energy stock returns on fossil energy returns is pronounced during extreme market conditions, whereas they appear to be decoupled from fossil energy returns during normal market conditions. Second, the total connectedness between fossil energy returns transmits a substantial shock to renewable energy stock returns during most market conditions, which is in stark contrast to the information transmission directly originating from fossil energy markets. The performance of renewable energy stock markets improves with stronger fossil energy return connectedness, whereas weaker fossil energy return connectedness hinders it. Additionally, further study reveals that the directional dependence of renewable energy stock returns on the net connectedness of the crude oil market is dominated by negative dependence when the net connectedness of the crude oil market is low, whereas it displays positive dependence when the net connectedness of the crude oil market is high. This directional dependence pattern on the net connectedness of the crude oil market is opposite to that exhibited in the net connectedness of the coal and natural gas markets. Third, in general, the directional dependence of renewable energy stock returns on fossil energy returns is more pronounced in the short term but diminishes over the medium and long terms. Conversely, the directional dependence of renewable energy stock returns on fossil energy return connectedness persists over the medium and long terms. Final, with the outbreak of the Global Financial Crisis during 2007–2008, we notice an abrupt jump in the directional dependence of renewable energy stock returns on fossil energy returns and their connectedness, particularly during extreme market conditions. Our findings provide noteworthy implications for energy transformation, energy security, and climate mitigation.