BALANCING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN MACAU BASED ON THE UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

ABSTRACT

THE DEVELOPMENT OF GREEN FINANCIAL PRODUCTS LIKE GREEN BONDS AND INDUSTRY FINANCING HAS GAINED MOMENTUM, SHOWING POSITIVE IMPACTS ON SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, RENEWABLE ENERGY INVESTMENT, AND GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTION. AS THE RESEARCH PROBLEM IS INADEQUATELY EXPLORED, THIS DISSERTATION AIMS TO FILL THE RESEARCH GAP TO EVALUATE THE IMPACTS OF GREEN FINANCE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. FURTHERMORE, THIS STUDY ASSESSES THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ASIAN AND NON-ASIAN ECONOMIES IN THE IMPACTS OF GREEN FINANCE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. TWO EMPIRICAL MEASURES ARE ANALYZED IN THIS STUDY.GREEN FINANCE IS MEASURED WITH THE GLOBAL GREEN FINANCE INDEX (GGFI), A COMPOSITE INDEX THAT CAPTURES OVER 100 INSTRUMENTAL VARIABLES, COVERING THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, HUMAN CAPITAL, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND SUSTAINABILITY ASPECTS OF A FINANCIAL CENTER. GROWTH RATE OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) PER CAPITA REFLECTS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. THE DATASET ENCOMPASSES 83 INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTERS FROM 2018 TO 2022. THE REGRESSION MODEL FINDS A SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GROWTH RATES OF GGFI AND GDP PER CAPITA IN THE FULL SAMPLE, THE ASIAN SUBGROUP, AND THE NON-ASIAN SUBGROUP. GGFI GROWTH IS CONFIRMED TO HAVE GRANGER CAUSED GDP PER CAPITA GROWTH, BUT GDP PER CAPITA GROWTH DID NOT GRANGER CAUSE GGFI GROWTH. COMBINED WITH THE INSIGHTS OF THE PREVIOUS STUDIES, THIS STUDY JUSTIFIES THE FINDINGS AS A SHORT-TERM NEGATIVE IMPACT OF GREEN FINANCE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH. HOWEVER, THE ASIAN REGION, WITH MANY EMERGING ECONOMIES, COULD TRANSITION FASTER, SO THE REGRESSION DERIVES A LESS NEGATIVE COEFFICIENTS FOR ASIAN FINANCIAL CENTERS. THE POLICY IMPLICATION 5 IS THAT CONTINUED GOVERNMENT SUPPORT TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GREEN FINANCE IS NECESSARY FOR THE LONG-TERM BENEFIT OF GREEN FINANCE TO BE FULLY REALIZED