IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/ijfiec/v30y2025i1p405-425.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Green finance, environmental quality and technological innovation in China

Author

Listed:
  • Yan Su
  • Chien‐Chiang Lee

Abstract

This research analyses the impact of green finance development on the environmental quality of China. It utilises provincial panel data from 2006 to 2021 and takes technological innovation as the intermediary variable. Through the construction of a comprehensive index of green finance, technological innovation and environmental quality, we verify the hypothesis that green finance development does improve environmental quality. Taking innovation as the intermediary variable, this study examines the hypothesis that green finance enhances environmental quality by improving the level of innovation and also illustrates the importance of developing technology‐intensive industries. Heterogeneity analysis shows that different regions or different levels of green financial development have varying effects on environmental improvement. Finally, the findings validate the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) by showing an inverted U‐shape link between green finance and environmental quality. The results herein offer a benchmark for policymakers to further strengthen green finance policy, increase the proportion of green investment and raise the support of green finance for technological innovation, thus improving environmental pollution and promoting sustainable economic development.

Suggested Citation

  • Yan Su & Chien‐Chiang Lee, 2025. "Green finance, environmental quality and technological innovation in China," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 405-425, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:ijfiec:v:30:y:2025:i:1:p:405-425
    DOI: 10.1002/ijfe.2924
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.2924
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/ijfe.2924?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daron Acemoglu & Philippe Aghion & Leonardo Bursztyn & David Hemous, 2012. "The Environment and Directed Technical Change," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(1), pages 131-166, February.
    2. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Shahzad, Syed Jawad Hussain & Ahmad, Nawaz & Alam, Shaista, 2016. "Financial development and environmental quality: The way forward," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 353-364.
    3. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Hussain, Jafar, 2023. "An assessment of socioeconomic indicators and energy consumption by considering green financing," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    4. Tamazian, Artur & Bhaskara Rao, B., 2010. "Do economic, financial and institutional developments matter for environmental degradation? Evidence from transitional economies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 137-145, January.
    5. 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.
    6. Khalid Ahmed & Agha Jahanzeb, 2021. "Does financial development spur environmental and energy‐related innovation in Brazil?," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 1706-1723, April.
    7. Chen, Wenhui & Lei, Yalin, 2018. "The impacts of renewable energy and technological innovation on environment-energy-growth nexus: New evidence from a panel quantile regression," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-14.
    8. Zeqiraj, Veton & Sohag, Kazi & Soytas, Ugur, 2020. "Stock market development and low-carbon economy: The role of innovation and renewable energy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    9. Malinauskaite, J. & Jouhara, H. & Ahmad, L. & Milani, M. & Montorsi, L. & Venturelli, M., 2019. "Energy efficiency in industry: EU and national policies in Italy and the UK," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 255-269.
    10. Michael Faulkender & Mitchell A. Petersen, 2006. "Does the Source of Capital Affect Capital Structure?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 19(1), pages 45-79.
    11. Al Mamun, Md & Sohag, Kazi & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Hammoudeh, Shawkat, 2018. "Financial markets, innovations and cleaner energy production in OECD countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 236-254.
    12. Umar, Muhammad & Safi, Adnan, 2023. "Do green finance and innovation matter for environmental protection? A case of OECD economies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    13. Ma, Mengjuan & Zhu, Xiao & Liu, Meishan & Huang, Xiaodong, 2023. "Combining the role of green finance and environmental sustainability on green economic growth: Evidence from G-20 economies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 128-136.
    14. Sinha, Avik & Shahbaz, Muhammad, 2018. "Estimation of Environmental Kuznets Curve for CO2 emission: Role of renewable energy generation in India," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 703-711.
    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. Omri, Anis & Daly, Saida & Rault, Christophe & Chaibi, Anissa, 2015. "Financial development, environmental quality, trade and economic growth: What causes what in MENA countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 242-252.
    17. Tamazian, Artur & Chousa, Juan Piñeiro & Vadlamannati, Krishna Chaitanya, 2009. "Does higher economic and financial development lead to environmental degradation: Evidence from BRIC countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 246-253, January.
    18. Wang, Fayuan & Wang, Rong & He, Zhili, 2021. "The impact of environmental pollution and green finance on the high-quality development of energy based on spatial Dubin model," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    19. Linnenluecke, Martina K. & Smith, Tom & McKnight, Brent, 2016. "Environmental finance: A research agenda for interdisciplinary finance research," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 124-130.
    20. Dinda, Soumyananda, 2004. "Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis: A Survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 431-455, August.
    21. Costantini, Valeria & Mazzanti, Massimiliano & Montini, Anna, 2013. "Environmental performance, innovation and spillovers. Evidence from a regional NAMEA," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 101-114.
    22. Liu, Min & Liu, Hong-Fei & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2024. "An empirical study on the response of the energy market to the shock from the artificial intelligence industry," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    23. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2022. "How does green finance affect green total factor productivity? Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    24. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Nasir, Muhammad Ali & Roubaud, David, 2018. "Environmental degradation in France: The effects of FDI, financial development, and energy innovations," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 843-857.
    25. 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.
    26. Wang, Yuan & Zhang, Chen & Lu, Aitong & Li, Li & He, Yanmin & ToJo, Junji & Zhu, Xiaodong, 2017. "A disaggregated analysis of the environmental Kuznets curve for industrial CO2 emissions in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 172-180.
    27. Siyu Ren & Yu Hao & Haitao Wu, 2022. "How Does Green Investment Affect Environmental Pollution? Evidence from China," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 81(1), pages 25-51, January.
    28. Yu, Chin-Hsien & Wu, Xiuqin & Zhang, Dayong & Chen, Shi & Zhao, Jinsong, 2021. "Demand for green finance: Resolving financing constraints on green innovation in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    29. Tang, Dragon Yongjun & Zhang, Yupu, 2020. "Do shareholders benefit from green bonds?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    30. Sohag, Kazi & Taşkın, F. Dilvin & Malik, Muhammad Nasir, 2019. "Green economic growth, cleaner energy and militarization: Evidence from Turkey," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    31. Wen, Huwei & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Zhou, Fengxiu, 2021. "Green credit policy, credit allocation efficiency and upgrade of energy-intensive enterprises," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    32. Yahya, Farzan & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2023. "Disentangling the asymmetric effect of financialization on the green output gap," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    33. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Li, Xinrui & Yu, Chin-Hsien & Zhao, Jinsong, 2022. "The contribution of climate finance toward environmental sustainability: New global evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    34. Bert Scholtens, 2006. "Finance as a Driver of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 68(1), pages 19-33, September.
    35. Chien‐Chiang Lee & Godwin Olasehinde‐Williams & Bright Akwasi Gyamfi, 2023. "The synergistic effect of green trade and economic complexity on sustainable environment: A new perspective on the economic and ecological components of sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 976-989, April.
    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. Kim, Dong-Hyeon & Wu, Yi-Chen & Lin, Shu-Chin, 2020. "Carbon dioxide emissions and the finance curse," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    2. Umme Habiba & Cao Xinbang, 2022. "An Investigation of the Dynamic Relationships Between Financial Development, Renewable Energy Use, and CO2 Emissions," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, November.
    3. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Nasir, Muhammad Ali & Roubaud, David, 2018. "Environmental degradation in France: The effects of FDI, financial development, and energy innovations," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 843-857.
    4. Mirza Md Moyen Uddin, 2020. "Does financial development stimulate environmental sustainability? Evidence from a panel study of 115 countries," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2871-2889, September.
    5. Magdalena Ziolo & Krzysztof Kluza & Anna Spoz, 2019. "Impact of Sustainable Financial and Economic Development on Greenhouse Gas Emission in the Developed and Converging Economies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-30, November.
    6. Destek, Mehmet Akif & Sohag, Kazi & Aydın, Sercan & Destek, Gamze, 2022. "Foreign direct investment, stock market capitalization and sustainable development: Relative impacts of domestic and foreign capital," MPRA Paper 117551, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Dong-Hyeon Kim & Yi-Chen Wu & Shu-Chin Lin, 2022. "Carbon dioxide emissions, financial development and political institutions," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 837-874, May.
    8. Zhang, Wenwen & Chiu, Yi-Bin, 2020. "Do country risks influence carbon dioxide emissions? A non-linear perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    9. Predrag Petrović & Mikhail M. Lobanov, 2022. "Impact of financial development on CO2 emissions: improved empirical results," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(5), pages 6655-6675, May.
    10. 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.
    11. Acheampong, Alex O. & Amponsah, Mary & Boateng, Elliot, 2020. "Does financial development mitigate carbon emissions? Evidence from heterogeneous financial economies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    12. Acheampong, Alex O., 2019. "Modelling for insight: Does financial development improve environmental quality?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 156-179.
    13. Le Hoang Phong, 2019. "Globalization, Financial Development, and Environmental Degradation in the Presence of Environmental Kuznets Curve: Evidence from ASEAN-5 Countries," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 9(2), pages 40-50.
    14. Jamal Sekali & Mohamed Bouzahzah, 2019. "Financial Development and Environmental Quality: Empirical Evidence for Morocco," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 9(2), pages 67-74.
    15. Singhania, Monica & Saini, Neha, 2021. "Demystifying pollution haven hypothesis: Role of FDI," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 516-528.
    16. Mahmood, Ahmad & Zahoor, Ahmed & Xiyue, Yang & Nazim, Hussain & Sinha, Avik, 2021. "Financial development and environmental degradation: Do human capital and institutional quality make a difference?," MPRA Paper 110039, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2021.
    17. Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo & Seyi Saint Akadiri & Ilham Haouas & Husam Rjoub, 2023. "A Time-Varying Analysis between Financial Development and Carbon Emissions: Evidence from the MINT countries," Energy & Environment, , vol. 34(5), pages 1207-1227, August.
    18. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Shahzad, Syed Jawad Hussain & Ahmad, Nawaz & Alam, Shaista, 2016. "Financial development and environmental quality: The way forward," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 353-364.
    19. Asongu, Simplice A. & Odhiambo, Nicholas M., 2021. "Inequality, finance and renewable energy consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(P1), pages 678-688.
    20. Yan, Bin & Wang, Feng & Dong, Mingru & Ren, Jing & Liu, Juan & Shan, Jing, 2022. "How do financial spatial structure and economic agglomeration affect carbon emission intensity? Theory extension and evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).

    More about this item

    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:wly:ijfiec:v:30:y:2025:i:1:p:405-425. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jpages/1076-9307/ .

    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.