Country Sustainable Development and Economic Growth: The International Evidence
52 Pages Posted: 17 Apr 2019 Last revised: 16 Feb 2020
Date Written: February 11, 2020
Abstract
This study documents a significant and positive impact of country-level ESG improvement on economic growth using a comprehensive sample across 109 countries. The economic benefits of country-level ESG improvement are robust after alleviating endogeneity concerns using instrumental variable regression, dynamic panel GMM approach and placebo tests. Further, according to the subsample analyses, we find that the positive influence of country-level ESG improvement on economic growth is more pronounced in countries with a stronger incentive to improve ESG performance, and more powerful CSR responsive and law enforcement. Our findings provide policy implications for promoting sustainable economic growth.
Keywords: Country-level ESG; Sustainable Growth; Economic Growth
JEL Classification: O11; O44; O47; Q01; Q56
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