Patterns of Interdependence between Financial Development, Fiscal Instruments, and Environmental Degradation in Developed and Converging EU Countries

Magdalena Zioło, Krzysztof Kluza, Jarosław Kozuba, Miroslav Kelemen, Piotr Niedzielski and Paweł Zinczak
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Magdalena Zioło: Department of Sustainable Finance and Capital Markets, University of Szczecin, 71-101 Szczecin, Poland
Krzysztof Kluza: Department of Quantitative Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, 02-554 Warsaw, Poland
Jarosław Kozuba: Faculty of Transport, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Miroslav Kelemen: Faculty of Aeronautics, Technical University of Kosice, 04-121 Kosice, Slovakia
Piotr Niedzielski: Department of Enterprise Management, University of Szczecin, 71-007 Szczecin, Poland
Paweł Zinczak: Department of Sustainable Finance and Capital Markets, University of Szczecin, 71-101 Szczecin, Poland

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-17

Abstract: Environmental risks, in particular climate change and environmental pollution, are among the key challenges faced by modern governments nowadays. Environmental risks are associated with specific costs and expenditures necessary to mitigate their negative effects. In this context, the financial system plays a significant role, particularly the public financial system, which allocates and redistributes public resources and has an impact on market participants by imposing environmental taxes. This study assessed the interdependence between environmental degradation and public expenditure, financial sector development, environmental taxes, and related socioeconomic policies. The aim was to diagnose and define the relationship between environmental degradation and sustainable fiscal instruments used in the financial system. The original research approach adopted in the study is the inclusion of variables representing a sustainable approach to assessment of the financial system. Two groups of European Union countries were analyzed for the period 2008–2017, namely, converging economies from Central and Eastern Europe and the largest developed economies of Western Europe. The authors found a strong relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and fiscal instruments, especially expenditure on research and development, and the development of the financial sector. In the case of environmental taxes, their impact differed depending on the country, being predominantly beneficial in countries with higher greenhouse gas emissions but unfavorable in countries with lower emissions levels.

Keywords: sustainability; finance; greenhouse gas emission; government; policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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