IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i2p774-d1570852.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Modeling and Analysis of the Impact of Quality Growth and Financial Development on Environmental Sustainability: Evidence from EU Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Furkan Yıldırım

    (Faculty of Applied Sciences, Department of Finance and Banking, Akdeniz University, Antalya 07600, Turkey)

  • Ulaş Ünlü

    (Faculty of Applied Sciences, Department of Finance and Banking, Akdeniz University, Antalya 07600, Turkey)

  • Ayhan Kuloğlu

    (Nevşehir Vocational School, Department of Accounting and Taxation, Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University, Nevşehir 50300, Turkey)

  • Özkan Çıtak

    (Department of Finance, Banking, and Insurance, Vocational School of Social Sciences, Akdeniz University, Antalya 07600, Turkey)

Abstract

This study examines the impact of financial development and quality growth on environmental sustainability in European Union (EU) countries, making a significant contribution to the existing literature by introducing a composite index for environmental sustainability and emphasizing quality growth as a more inclusive alternative to traditional economic growth indicators. Unlike conventional studies, which often measure environmental sustainability using single indicators, this research introduces a composite index that includes both environmental damage (e.g., carbon emissions) and protective factors (e.g., forest area, renewable energy consumption). This innovative approach provides a more holistic assessment of environmental sustainability, distinguishing this study from existing research. The results emphasize the role of a robust financial system in promoting environmental sustainability, as each unit increase in financial development is positively correlated with the environmental sustainability ratio, encouraging investments and projects that prioritize environmental goals. In addition, the study shows that quality growth, which takes into account social welfare and resource efficiency in addition to economic expansion, is crucial for promoting sustainability. By focusing on quality growth, this study shifts the paradigm from mere quantitative economic expansion to a more comprehensive understanding of growth that integrates social and environmental dimensions. This nuanced approach contrasts with traditional models that focus on quantitative economic growth, highlighting that both quality growth and financial development are critical to supporting long-term environmental goals. This research provides actionable insights for policymakers by emphasizing the need for financial reforms, such as green bond markets and sustainable credit mechanisms, to support sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Furkan Yıldırım & Ulaş Ünlü & Ayhan Kuloğlu & Özkan Çıtak, 2025. "Modeling and Analysis of the Impact of Quality Growth and Financial Development on Environmental Sustainability: Evidence from EU Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:2:p:774-:d:1570852
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/2/774/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/2/774/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jalil, Abdul & Feridun, Mete, 2011. "The impact of growth, energy and financial development on the environment in China: A cointegration analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 284-291, March.
    2. Omri, Anis, 2013. "CO2 emissions, energy consumption and economic growth nexus in MENA countries: Evidence from simultaneous equations models," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 657-664.
    3. Muhammad Shahbaz & Smile Dube & Ilhan Ozturk & Abdul Jalil, 2015. "Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis in Portugal," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 5(2), pages 475-481.
    4. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2007. "A simple panel unit root test in the presence of cross-section dependence," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 265-312.
    5. Safi, Adnan & Kchouri, Bilal & Elgammal, Walid & Nicolas, Melhim Khoury & Umar, Muhammad, 2024. "Bridging the green gap: Do green finance and digital transformation influence sustainable development?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    6. Selden Thomas M. & Song Daqing, 1994. "Environmental Quality and Development: Is There a Kuznets Curve for Air Pollution Emissions?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 147-162, September.
    7. T. S. Breusch & A. R. Pagan, 1980. "The Lagrange Multiplier Test and its Applications to Model Specification in Econometrics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 47(1), pages 239-253.
    8. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2021. "General diagnostic tests for cross-sectional dependence in panels," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 13-50, January.
    9. Gene M. Grossman & Alan B. Krueger, 1995. "Economic Growth and the Environment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(2), pages 353-377.
    10. Agras, Jean & Chapman, Duane, 1999. "A dynamic approach to the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 267-277, February.
    11. Demary, Markus & Neligan, Adriana, 2019. "Defining green bonds the danger of neglecting the issuer side: Looking at problems and solutions," IW policy papers 2/2019, Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (IW) / German Economic Institute.
    12. Beck, Nathaniel & Katz, Jonathan N., 1995. "What To Do (and Not to Do) with Time-Series Cross-Section Data," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(3), pages 634-647, September.
    13. Al-Mulali, Usama & Ozturk, Ilhan, 2015. "The effect of energy consumption, urbanization, trade openness, industrial output, and the political stability on the environmental degradation in the MENA (Middle East and North African) region," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 382-389.
    14. Dinda, Soumyananda, 2004. "Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis: A Survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 431-455, August.
    15. Mohamed Amine Boutabba, 2014. "The impact of financial development, income, energy and trade on carbon emissions: Evidence from the Indian economy," Post-Print hal-02877966, HAL.
    16. Boutabba, Mohamed Amine, 2014. "The impact of financial development, income, energy and trade on carbon emissions: Evidence from the Indian economy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 33-41.
    17. Edward B. Barbier, 2005. "Natural Resource-Based Economic Development in History," World Economics, World Economics, 1 Ivory Square, Plantation Wharf, London, United Kingdom, SW11 3UE, vol. 6(3), pages 103-152, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Haisheng Yu & Shenhui Song, 2025. "Natural Gas Futures Price Prediction Based on Variational Mode Decomposition–Gated Recurrent Unit/Autoencoder/Multilayer Perceptron–Random Forest Hybrid Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-23, March.

    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. Iftikhar Yasin & Nawaz Ahmad & Muhammad Aslam Chaudhary, 2021. "The impact of financial development, political institutions, and urbanization on environmental degradation: evidence from 59 less-developed economies," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 6698-6721, May.
    2. Huaping Sun & Samuel Attuquaye Clottey & Yong Geng & Kai Fang & Joshua Clifford Kofi Amissah, 2019. "Trade Openness and Carbon Emissions: Evidence from Belt and Road Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-20, May.
    3. Myo Myo Htike & Anil Shrestha & Makoto Kakinaka, 2022. "Investigating whether the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis holds for sectoral CO2 emissions: evidence from developed and developing countries," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(11), pages 12712-12739, November.
    4. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Inekwe, John & Ivanovski, Kris & Smyth, Russell, 2023. "Corrigendum to “The environmental Kuznets curve in the OECD: 1870–2014” [Energy Economics 75 (2018) 389–399]," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    5. Ali Acaravci & Guray Akalin, 2017. "Environment economic Growth Nexus: A Comparative Analysis of Developed and Developing Countries," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 7(5), pages 34-43.
    6. Ozcan, Burcu, 2013. "The nexus between carbon emissions, energy consumption and economic growth in Middle East countries: A panel data analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1138-1147.
    7. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Haouas, Ilham & SBIA, Rashid & Ozturk, Ilhan, 2018. "Financial Development-Environmental Degradation Nexus in the United Arab Emirates: The Importance of Growth, Globalization and Structural Breaks," MPRA Paper 87365, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 11 Jun 2018.
    8. Yilmaz Bayar & Laura Diaconu (Maxim) & Andrei Maxim, 2020. "Financial Development and CO 2 Emissions in Post-Transition European Union Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-15, March.
    9. Jaforullah, Mohammad & King, Alan, 2017. "The econometric consequences of an energy consumption variable in a model of CO2 emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 84-91.
    10. Kangyin Dong & Xiucheng Dong & Qingzhe Jiang, 2020. "How renewable energy consumption lower global CO2 emissions? Evidence from countries with different income levels," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(6), pages 1665-1698, June.
    11. Chris Belmert Milindi & Roula Inglesi-Lotz, 2023. "Impact of technological progress on carbon emissions in different country income groups," Energy & Environment, , vol. 34(5), pages 1348-1382, August.
    12. Muhammad Shahbaz & Avik Sinha, 2019. "Environmental Kuznets curve for CO2emissions: a literature survey," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 46(1), pages 106-168, January.
    13. Fateh Belaïd, Sabri Boubaker, Rajwane Kafrouni, 2020. "Carbon emissions, income inequality and environmental degradation: the case of Mediterranean countries," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 17(1), pages 73-102, June.
    14. Huaping Sun & Love Enna & Augustine Monney & Dang Khoa Tran & Ehsan Rasoulinezhad & Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary, 2020. "The Long-Run Effects of Trade Openness on Carbon Emissions in Sub-Saharan African Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-18, October.
    15. Iftikhar Yasin & Nawaz Ahmad & M. Aslam Chaudhary, 2020. "Catechizing the Environmental-Impression of Urbanization, Financial Development, and Political Institutions: A Circumstance of Ecological Footprints in 110 Developed and Less-Developed Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 621-649, January.
    16. Muhammad Bilal Khan & Hummera Saleem & Malik Shahzad Shabbir & Xie Huobao, 2022. "The effects of globalization, energy consumption and economic growth on carbon dioxide emissions in South Asian countries," Energy & Environment, , vol. 33(1), pages 107-134, February.
    17. Muhammad Shahbaz & Mehmet Akif Destek & Michael L. Polemis, 2018. "Do Foreign Capital and Financial Development Affect Clean Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions? Evidence from BRICS and Next-11 Countries," SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, University of Piraeus, vol. 68(4), pages 20-50, October-D.
    18. Tiba, Sofien & Frikha, Mohamed, 2019. "The controversy of the resource curse and the environment in the SDGs background: The African context," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 437-452.
    19. Hu, Guoheng & Can, Muhlis & Paramati, Sudharshan Reddy & Doğan, Buhari & Fang, Jianchun, 2020. "The effect of import product diversification on carbon emissions: New evidence for sustainable economic policies," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 198-210.
    20. Mumin Atalay Cetin & Ibrahim Bakirtas, 2020. "The long-run environmental impacts of economic growth, financial development, and energy consumption: Evidence from emerging markets," Energy & Environment, , vol. 31(4), pages 634-655, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:2:p:774-:d:1570852. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.