IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v47y2022ipas1544612322001829.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cleaning up corruption and the climate: The role of green building certifications

Author

Listed:
  • Devine, Avis
  • McCollum, Meagan
  • Orlova, Svetlana

Abstract

Adoption of green building certifications can help mitigate climate change in several ways. The most evident impact is introduction and implementation of higher environmental standards designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We document a less obvious effect of green building certifications on corruption: an increase in certification adoption is associated with a decrease in corruption at the country level. This suggests that improvements in country-level control of corruption, particularly in the construction industry, may also be correlated with more efficient use of existing resources and attract climate-conscious investments, thus helping to reduce the gap in financing necessary to achieve carbon neutrality goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Devine, Avis & McCollum, Meagan & Orlova, Svetlana, 2022. "Cleaning up corruption and the climate: The role of green building certifications," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PA).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:47:y:2022:i:pa:s1544612322001829
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2022.102929
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612322001829
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2022.102929?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Piet Eichholtz & Nils Kok & John M. Quigley, 2013. "The Economics of Green Building," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(1), pages 50-63, March.
    2. Shaun Bond & Avis Devine, 2016. "Certification Matters: Is Green Talk Cheap Talk?," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 117-140, February.
    3. Franz Fuerst & Patrick McAllister, 2011. "Green Noise or Green Value? Measuring the Effects of Environmental Certification on Office Values," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 39(1), pages 45-69, March.
    4. Mushfiq us Swaleheen, 2007. "Corruption and Investment Choices: A Panel Data Study," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(4), pages 601-616, November.
    5. Andrew Hodge & Sriram Shankar & D. S. Prasada Rao & Alan Duhs, 2011. "Exploring the Links Between Corruption and Growth," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(3), pages 474-490, August.
    6. Piet Eichholtz & Nils Kok & John M. Quigley, 2010. "Doing Well by Doing Good? Green Office Buildings," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(5), pages 2492-2509, December.
    7. Eichholtz, Piet & Holtermans, Rogier & Kok, Nils & Yönder, Erkan, 2019. "Environmental performance and the cost of debt: Evidence from commercial mortgages and REIT bonds," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 19-32.
    8. Elizabeth Asiedu, 2006. "Foreign Direct Investment in Africa: The Role of Natural Resources, Market Size, Government Policy, Institutions and Political Instability," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 63-77, January.
    9. Paul Collier & Anke Hoeffler, 2005. "Resource Rents, Governance, and Conflict," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 49(4), pages 625-633, August.
    10. Javorcik, Beata S. & Wei, Shang-Jin, 2009. "Corruption and cross-border investment in emerging markets: Firm-level evidence," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 605-624, June.
    11. Damania, Richard & Fredriksson, Per G. & List, John A., 2003. "Trade liberalization, corruption, and environmental policy formation: theory and evidence," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 490-512, November.
    12. Conor M. O'Toole & Finn Tarp, 2014. "Corruption And The Efficiency Of Capital Investment In Developing Countries," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(5), pages 567-597, July.
    13. Lorenzo Pellegrini & Reyer Gerlagh, 2005. "An Empirical Contribution to the Debate on Corruption,Democracy and Environmental Policy," Working Papers 2005.8, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    14. Dincer, Oguzhan C. & Fredriksson, Per G., 2018. "Corruption and environmental regulatory policy in the United States: Does trust matter?," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 212-225.
    15. Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra, 2006. "Who cares about corruption?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(6), pages 807-822, November.
    16. Vagliasindi, Maria, 2012. "The role of policy driven incentives to attract PPPs in renewable-based energy in developing countries : a cross-country analysis," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6120, The World Bank.
    17. Lopez, Ramon & Mitra, Siddhartha, 2000. "Corruption, Pollution, and the Kuznets Environment Curve," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 137-150, September.
    18. Hiep Ngoc Luu & Ngoc Minh Nguyen & Hai Hong Ho & Vu Hoang Nam, 2018. "The effect of corruption on FDI and its modes of entry," Journal of Financial Economic Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(2), pages 232-250, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Avis Devine & Erkan Yönder, 2023. "Impact of Environmental Investments on Corporate Financial Performance: Decomposing Valuation and Cash Flow Effects," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 66(4), pages 778-805, May.
    2. Phuong Thao Dang, 2019. "Sustainability comes from within: carbon dioxide emissions, FDI origin factor and institutional qualities in developing countries," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 36(2), pages 439-471, July.
    3. Andrea Chegut & Piet Eichholtz & Rogier Holtermans & Juan Palacios, 2020. "Energy Efficiency Information and Valuation Practices in Rental Housing," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 181-204, February.
    4. Fuerst, Franz & Gabrieli, Tommaso & McAllister, Patrick, 2017. "A green winner's curse? Investor behavior in the market for eco-certified office buildings," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 137-146.
    5. Niina Leskinen & Jussi Vimpari & Seppo Junnila, 2020. "A Review of the Impact of Green Building Certification on the Cash Flows and Values of Commercial Properties," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-22, March.
    6. Copiello, Sergio, 2017. "Building energy efficiency: A research branch made of paradoxes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1064-1076.
    7. Chegut, Andrea & Eichholtz, Piet & Kok, Nils, 2019. "The price of innovation: An analysis of the marginal cost of green buildings," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    8. Khazal, Aras & Sønstebø, Ole Jakob, 2020. "Valuation of energy performance certificates in the rental market – Professionals vs. nonprofessionals," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    9. Chegut, Andrea & Eichholtz, Piet & Holtermans, Rogier, 2016. "Energy efficiency and economic value in affordable housing," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 39-49.
    10. Konstantin A Kholodilin & Andreas Mense & Claus Michelsen, 2017. "The market value of energy efficiency in buildings and the mode of tenure," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(14), pages 3218-3238, November.
    11. Xue Xiao & Martin Skitmore & Heng Li & Bo Xia, 2019. "Mapping Knowledge in the Economic Areas of Green Building Using Scientometric Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-22, August.
    12. Andreas Mense, 2018. "The Value of Energy Efficiency and the Role of Expected Heating Costs," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 71(3), pages 671-701, November.
    13. Ana Ramos & Alicia Pérez-Alonso & Susana Silva, 2015. "Valuing Energy Performance Certificates in the Portuguese Residential," Working Papers 02-2015, Economics for Energy.
    14. Franco, Sofia F. & Cutter, W. Bowman, 2022. "The determinants of non-residential real estate values with special reference to environmental local amenities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    15. Qi, Guoyou & Zou, Hailiang & Xie, Xuemei & Meng, Xiaohua & Fan, Tijun & Cao, Yuanhe, 2020. "Obedience or escape: Examining the contingency influences of corruption on firm exports," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 261-272.
    16. Deng, Yongheng & Li, Zhiliang & Quigley, John M., 2012. "Economic returns to energy-efficient investments in the housing market: Evidence from Singapore," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 506-515.
    17. Avis Devine & Andrew Sanderford & Chongyu Wang, 2024. "Sustainability and Private Equity Real Estate Returns," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 68(2), pages 161-187, February.
    18. Dawn L. Keig & Lance Eliot Brouthers & Victor B. Marshall, 2015. "Formal and Informal Corruption Environments and Multinational Enterprise Social Irresponsibility," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 89-116, January.
    19. Lu Zhang & Lennart Stangenberg & Sjors van Wickeren, 2020. "The information value of energy labels: Evidence from the Dutch residential housing market," CPB Discussion Paper 413.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    20. Zifeng Feng & Zhonghua Wu, 2023. "ESG Disclosure, REIT Debt Financing and Firm Value," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 388-422, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corruption; Green building certification; Developing countries; Climate finance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • R30 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - General
    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • F63 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Economic Development

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:47:y:2022:i:pa:s1544612322001829. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/frl .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.